Waukegan
Waukegan, IL water profile — supply sources, drought status, wastewater reuse, and the key water issues facing the city.
waukegan
surface water (rivers/reservoirs) · local government · PWSID IL0971900
Below EPA's 15 ppb lead action level at last testing.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) · 2026 Q1
Waukegan is a small but growing city and the 10th-largest in Illinois, home to roughly 88,475 residents. Waukegan's drinking water comes largely from the same regional sources that serve Illinois: Lake Michigan, Mississippi River, and deep aquifers.
As elsewhere in Illinois, the central challenge is aging infrastructure. Lake Michigan provides Chicago abundant supply, but suburban communities pumping deep aquifers face declining levels.
Illinois reuses an estimated 5% of its treated wastewater and maintains minimal reuse programs; Waukegan tracks abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions on the U.S. Drought Monitor scale.
Explore the Illinois profile for statewide context, or dig into the water issues shaping Waukegan below.
Lake County water quality
Source: EPA SDWIS · 2026 Q1
At a glance
- Population ~88,475 (10th-largest in Illinois)
- Primary sources: Lake Michigan, Mississippi River, and deep aquifers
- Drought: abnormally dry to moderate conditions
- State reuse rate: ~5% of wastewater
Statewide drought history
% of Illinois in severe+ drought (Moderate (D1) now).
Source: U.S. Drought Monitor
Common questions
Is tap water safe in Waukegan?
Waukegan's largest water system, WAUKEGAN, serves about 87,149 people. EPA records show 0 health-based violation(s) since 2016 and a most-recent 90th-percentile lead level of 9 ppb (EPA action level is 15 ppb). Always check your own provider's annual Consumer Confidence Report.
Where does Waukegan get its water?
WAUKEGAN draws primarily from surface water (rivers/reservoirs), part of Illinois's supply from Lake Michigan, Mississippi River, deep aquifers.
Related water issues
Aging Infrastructure
Much of America's water infrastructure is decades past its design life, leaking trillions of gallons a year and demanding hundreds of billions in reinvestment.
ExploreGroundwater Depletion
Aquifers from the Central Valley to the Ogallala are being pumped faster than they recharge, causing land subsidence and threatening long-term supply.
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