There is a water war in Monroe County, and Hanover Road seems to be the front line.

On Friday, the City of Waterloo filed a complaint for declaratory judgment in Monroe County Circuit Court against the City of Columbia and Fountain Water District claiming Columbia has no authority to provide water service to a series of parcels located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Route 3 and Hanover Road.

The area, also  known as the “Hanover Tracts,” contains about a dozen commercial water customers.

During its Jan. 21 meeting of the Columbia City Council, aldermen approved a municipal services agreement with the owners of Hillcrest Property LLC which would allow Columbia to provide city water to a building on the parcel.

The Hillcrest Property parcel is the home of a nearly-completed event center for Old Monroe Distillery Co. – formerly known as Stumpy’s Spirits Distillery – at 8787 Rickhouse Road in this Hanover Tracts area.

The agreement also included plans for future construction of a water tower on the Hillcrest parcel to bolster Columbia’s ability to provide water service to other properties in the area.

Columbia recently approved a payment of $452,273 for reimbursement of costs incurred by the property owners for installation of water infrastructure which included extension of a 12-inch water main underneath Route 3 to connect with a 16-inch main on the east side of Route 3.

During the Jan. 21 meeting, Columbia City Administrator Doug Brimm explained this new connection would serve as a “distribution main” for city water service, adding that infrastructure would also include a “T for future expansion on the west side of Route 3,” allowing the city to hypothetically provide water service to any new development along Route 3 from Hanover Road north to the existing city limits. 

In the civil action filed Friday, the City of Waterloo is claiming it has the right to provide water service to the Hanover Tracts – not Columbia.

In the filing, Waterloo points to a service area agreement between the City of Columbia and Fountain Water District adopted  in June 1999 which created a new water service area to match Columbia’s “public sanitary sewer facility planning area” established in 1995.

That area, according to a map and legal description in the agreement, specifically excludes the property within a boundary created by Hanover Road, Route 3 and FF Road – in which the Hillcrest parcel is located.

Waterloo further cites its own July 2011 agreement with Fountain Water District in which it claims to have provided formal notice of intention to purchase the district’s waterworks properties serving the Hanover Tracts area.

In June 2022, the City of Columbia also notified Fountain Water District of intent to purchase its water facilities in the Hanover Tract areas, although the filing claims the district never “granted consent to Columbia to furnish water” to the area. 

In addition to the Hanover Tracts being outside of Columbia’s service area and conflicting agreements with Fountain Water District, the filing alleges Columbia’s actions have violated state statute.

“The Hillcrest Property and Hanover Tracts are located more than one mile from Columbia’s nearest municipal boundaries; therefore, Columbia is barred by provisions of (Illinois Municipal Code) from furnishing water service to the Hillcrest Property and Hanover Tracts,” the filing states.

Columbia’s closest city limit is at the intersection of Route 3 and Gilmore Lake Road.

The closest point of Waterloo’s city limits, on the other hand, is less than one mile from the Hillcrest parcel, which the city claims gives it the “exclusive right” to prove water service as a provided by state statute.

Waterloo’s northernmost city limit near the intersection is a private driveway at 8700 Route 3 just north of GG Road. 

Waterloo’s actions are not completely unexpected, as there have been hints of a possible controversy.

At the end of 2024, Waterloo’s new state-of-the-art water treatment facility became operational, making Waterloo its own water supplier and allowing it to avoid significant price increases from Illinois American Water – Waterloo’s former supplier and Columbia’s current supplier.

During a Waterloo utility meeting in February, Waterloo Public Works Director JD Landeck divulged that Waterloo was working with Illinois American on an extension to acquire Illinois American’s 16-inch main – the same line Columbia planned to use for its utility expansion.

Also, the original plans for water main extension under Route 3 were amended after contractors had difficulty obtaining a temporary construction easement to connect the main underneath a property immediately east of the Old Monroe building on the other side of Route 3 – a property owned by the City of Waterloo.  

The legal action by Waterloo is likely to slow what has been a series of relatively quick actions by Columbia officials following approval of its latest comprehensive plan at the beginning of the year. 

Columbia’s southward growth and expansion of its municipal services are major components of the new plan. 

In addition to infrastructure work on the Hillcrest parcel, Columbia aldermen earlier this month approved a water main extension project along Columbia Quarry Road east to a planned subdivision near Bluffside Road.

In 2023, the city purchased four parcels along the west side of Route 3 from approximately Gilmore Lake Road south to just north of EE Road for $1.375 million, citing “significant strategic value for the city” and its future water plans.

Columbia officials did not respond to a request for comment.

No date has yet been set in Monroe County Circuit Court for further action on the matter.

To read the complaint, which also includes water service documents, click here.