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SurThrival

6
Dec

Waterfall Glenn Well, Lemont, IL

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Photo

Description

A little bit of a hike is required to reach this well but it’s worth the time. Enjoy the peaceful surroundings.

Additional info: http://www.dupageforest.com/Conservation/ForestPreserves/Waterfall_Glen.html

Nearest Address

East on Bluff Rd off of Lemont Rd just south of the I-55 exchange. Located in the Waterfall Glenn Forest Preserve.

Directions from Nearest Address

N/A

Vital Information

  • Fee: No Fee
  • Access: Public
  • Flow: Continuous
  • TDS: N/A
  • Temp: N/A
  • pH: N/A

Hours Spring is Open:

Open daily one hour after sunrise until one hour after sunset.

GPS:

N 41° 41.378 W 087° 59.420

Map Link: Waterfall Glenn Well Map

Submitted by: Eric Butler

Category : Illinois / USA
  • Katie

    Can someone please tell me if this is a spring or if it is an artisan well? I usually travel to Wisconsin for my spring water, however, I literally live in an apartment complex right next to Waterfall Glen. I'm just looking for the scoop on this one… :) Also, where is this spring/well located specifically? I'm familiar with the main trail.

    Thank you,
    Katie

  • Chelle

    Im going this weekend to look for this spring, I'll let you know what I find. If I dont find it, would you be interested in carpooling to WI for water?

  • Kevin

    I live minutes from here. So excited to hear about this. Maybe I will take a jog later today and try and find it.

  • Chelle

    Found it today. Its an artesian wellm and it's located right near the police shooting range off of Lemont Road. There is a path that goes right past the shooting range parking lot. After you pass the lot, look for a path to the left; you will hear the spring. If you hit the “no swimming” sign, youve gone too far.

  • Kevin

    Thank you! And how was the water? Did you stock up?

  • jenk57

    I grew up in the area and currently live in Homer Glen. We have well water which contains much rust and tastes terrible. I currently purchase 5-gallon bottles for drinking/cooking. As a child I remember getting water from a spring along Bluff Road in Lemont. But the pipe has been removed years ago. I am sure as people moved into the area, it became a traffic concern. I am interested to learn more about the Waterfall Glen well. Is it a far walk? Would it be feasible to carry 5-gallon water bottles to fill? From the picture it looks as if I may need a hose, its this a correct assumption?

  • jess

    hi…someone tell me ..what is the difference betw bottle water and spring water…and talking about spring water,, it is safe or do I have to make something to make it safe?

  • chris

    so i see that there is a way to drive there if you go down the path the police must use to access the shooting range. im not sure if its a good idea but then again, i dont care. im driving as close as i can get with my 5 gallon

  • chris

    i went to this well today. i brought home 2.5 gallons of water. it smells funny. does anyone drink this water. trying to find out how safe it might be. i went when it was raining a little bit, so im wondering if this would cause the water to smell funny. i also did some research and it looks like the land where the well is located, is near argonne national labs, where in the past radioactive waste may have been buried. so could this waste pollute the water? i dont know of any other water sources near me. i need to find one. at this point i am prepared to drive up to 2 hours to get clean water. i am done with city water

  • chris

    no you will not be able to walk there with a 5 gallon jug. but what i did, is ride my bike, with my kids bike trailer attached and the 5 gallon jug in the back…but you can read my other posts to see why i am unsure about drinking this water

  • Dee

    Chris,
    Did you end up getting the water tested?
    Are you sourcing water from elsewhere>?
    Dee

  • ADAM

    Can Anyone please test this water with a TDS tester??? would tell us how good of a quality the water is. Thank you!!

  • Chris

    No, i was thinking i should do some research to see if its cheap to get the water tested. I don't have a TDS meter, so i dont have any idea. I am still looking for a place to get water nearby. The closest source that i know of, other than this one is 2 hours away.

  • Chris

    This was the location of many nuclear reactors right? Does that concern anyone? There is a lot of strange “stuff” in this forest.

  • ADAM

    Well if it smells funny it could be iron or some sulfur. Anyway if it smells then it probably is not that great to drink. I bet it has a high amount of TDS. I go to Rock Springs in Wisconsin.

  • Adam

    Can any one buy a TDS tester and test this water ? This way we all know the quality of the water…. TDS testers go for about $15 ….

  • HFG

    This artesian spring is not marked on any of the forest preserve maps you get from DuPage county. To find it orient yourself facing south on Lemont Rd, at Bluff Rd, on the east side of Lemont Rd you see a trailer storage lot, you also see two sets of high tensions wire towers. A vehicle path goes under the high tension tower, there is a chain that blocks the path, just before you reach the chain there is a spot you can park your car (when facing East it is to the left of the vehicle path). You will have to walk roughly 2/3 to 3/4 of a mile East (you will pass under 6 (six) high tension towers, and will have passed the Lemont Police dept shooting range). About halfway before you reach the next (#7 from Lemont Rd) high tension tower you will find a grass covered path on the left which seems to double back a bit towards the West, follow it a few hundred feet. On your right you should be able to see a pond through the trees, as you get closer to the well, you should be able to hear the well before you reach it. The path is rough, make sure you have some good shoes or boots on, if you have a folding hand truck bring it along, you will be glad you did.

  • Woodgrid

    Hi Chris – I just sent an email to Gold Springs Bottled water in Hartzburg, IL which is only about 35 minutes from me (Peoria area). It would probably be about 2.5 hours for you. http://www.findaspring.com/gold-springs-atlanta-illinois/ You have to pay for it, but it sounds reputable.

  • Ryan J.

    Thanks for the excellent directions HFG. It’s an interesting area with a huge Hindu temple nearby and those old limestone structures. I am worried about people drinking this water because the Argonne Laboratory that sits in the middle of this land! I found a couple of old articles mentioning groundwater contamination in this exact area. Google “waterfall glen” “cleaning fluids” This place is 15 minutes away from where I live (Woodridge, IL) so I really wanted it to work but I don’t think I’ll be drinking any water from this spring. I like the idea of carpooling to Wisconsin or the spring near Peoria. I would be up for this but probably not until mid March 2011.

  • Maro7ak

    never been to this well, but if you willing to drive for spring water I would recommend the spring in Kenosha. I filled up from there a few days ago and am very happy with the water quality.

  • Mrjaw

    I agree with Ryan J. I live in the area as well and there has always been a shroud of mystery as to some of the goings on and testing that has been done at Argonne National Labs…never forget the space suited team that showed up at a home in Lemont a few years back as an employee was caught bringing some work home with him. Not sure what happened to the employee…however, there have been various stories about the testing over the years, I would be afraid it would be contaminated as well. Do people go in and actually take water from this spring?

  • mike

    I wouldnt drink water from this area. I know for sure there were the US first two Nuclear reactors buried In an area next to Red Gate woods along archer avenue. I believe this was possibly what was known as the first argone. This area is not to far from water fall Glen area. There have been ground water tests and radio active contaminants were found in the ground water even as far south of Joliet. About 12 years ago they fenced of an area in these woods and did some sort of clean up. There was even a spot called plot M which contained Contaminated waste. If you hike through these woods they have stone markers. As far as water fall glen The actual water fall where the water is, is contaminated with treated sewer water from Argone labs facility. I was told this by a forest ranger when I asked about small signs that were posted near the falls on trees.
    I would be careful and do some due diligence before consuming water from this spring.
    About the smell some of that area in lemont / lockport have notoriously smelly well water with a high Iron content.

  • Laney

    Mike, I appreciate you posting the information you came to know about. I wish it wasn’t so sad, but I also know what corporations get by with and how little they care about nature–land, water, air, animals, people. (As if our so called government ever gave a damn about it’s people.) My God, it is heartbreaking. I’m not too far from this site and felt so hopeful of something being nearby. But I’d rather know the truth. So, again, thankyou for the information you posted. I suppose, in retrospect, that anything near a large city like Chicago would be tainted.
    But then, you never know. I heard there were over 7,000 toxic waste dumps in the most pristine areas of Alaska….oh, my heart hurts to find that out. What people do for money! It won’t be long before everything comes caving in, in my vision. There’s only so much abuse Nature will tolerate before the consequences are felt by all. I trust the info from the forest ranger, in fact, I’m sure he has a lot more.
    Thankyou, kindly, Mike.

  • Laney

    Dear HFG,
    Thankyou so very much. I appreciate the effort you took to share the information you have.

  • Laney

    Mrjaw,
    Thankyou for that warning! Argonne employees…the space suited team…in Lemont!! It reminds me of the movie “Silkwood”. My God, would it happen so close to home! Oh, Yikes!

  • Laney

    Thankyou Ryan J.

    I’m in Woodridge, too. A while back they expanded Woodridge to include land south of I-55 in what used to be Lemont. I’m aware of the temple you mentioned. The thought of that water being tainted is just heartbreaking. The picture up above looks sooo nice. How sad that anyone would pollute such a precious resource. I wonder now about the other ones in Illinois posted on the main map. I found Mike’s comment at the bottom from one month ago to be very significant, and sad. You may be interested in reading what he has to say. And now with the fallout from Japan the USA’s prior nuclear testing maps have surfaced on youtube. What a mess. Thankyou for your information about the cleaning fluids. I will read all I can, thankyou so much!

  • Rpk-inc (richK)

    very good description!.  I was just there the other day. stumbled upon it by accident looking to fish in the quarry/ponds? there.  Its more overgrown right now than the picture appears to be and since the spring made it swampy flowing towards the pond, the mosquitoes were really heavy at the spring. 
    back by the lake/pond the mosquitoes were a little less intense.!  fishing wasnt any good there to be worth the walk in.  I took the train tracks there after parking south of the Des Plaines river. parking is limited! and the trains come almost hourly in the afternoon.
    Discovering the unknown spring was a nice suprise! but nothing glamorous.  and I wondered if the water is pure for drinking with the Argonne plant being uphill to the north. There was known to be some contamination spots up in the park at one time.

  • Rpk-inc (richK)

    very good description!.  I was just there the other day. stumbled upon it by accident looking to fish in the quarry/ponds? there.  Its more overgrown right now than the picture appears to be and since the spring made it swampy flowing towards the pond, the mosquitoes were really heavy at the spring. 
    back by the lake/pond the mosquitoes were a little less intense.!  fishing wasnt any good there to be worth the walk in.  I took the train tracks there after parking south of the Des Plaines river. parking is limited! and the trains come almost hourly in the afternoon.
    Discovering the unknown spring was a nice suprise! but nothing glamorous.  and I wondered if the water is pure for drinking with the Argonne plant being uphill to the north. There was known to be some contamination spots up in the park at one time.

  • Rpk-inc

    hi laney,
    I like your attitude and concern for nature. we need more people like you (and I) .
    There is another site you might be interested in about preserving nature (if youre not already aware of it):
    https://secure.npca.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=535

    remember though that 50+ years ago they didnt have the same concern or realizations about nature and were learning about the nuclear stuff!! 
    sad but what can we do accept not let it happen anymore!  A friend of mind lived near Argonne in Burr Ridge and was proactive in helping spur a group that got them to clean up a lot in the WFGlen preserve!
    -rich

  • Peroto777

    Here  is  a  link  from  Wikipedia   about   the  buried    reactor  :

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Site_A/Plot_M_Disposal_Site  

    After  reading  this  ,  I  wouldn’t  go hiking   in  that  area  let  along  drink  water  from  a  spring  there . It  was  buried   60 years  ago and  only  God  knows   how  many  hundreds  of  years  it  will  take  for   the  area  to  become  safe  again .
    The  amazing  thing  is    the  stupid  bastard   conducted  the  first   Nuclear  reactor  test   right  in  the  Middle  of the  densely   populated  Chicago   ,  without  any  cooling  or  protection . Who  knows  how  many people  got  cancers  after  that  experiment    and  blamed  it  on  their  bad  fortune ,  never  knowing  the  truth  that   they  were  victums  of  “progress ”

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Pile-1