Waukegan, Illinois sits on the western shore of Lake Michigan about 40 miles north of Chicago. It’s a city of roughly 90,000 people with a deep industrial history — and a contamination legacy to match.
Asbestos manufacturing, PCB-laden outboard motor production, coal gasification, and various chemical operations all took place within blocks of the lake that provides Waukegan’s drinking water. The city has multiple Superfund and brownfield sites, and the environmental cleanup has been underway for decades.
The good news: Waukegan’s drinking water comes from Lake Michigan, and it meets federal standards. The complicated news: the contamination in the soil, harbor sediments, and groundwater around the city tells a different story about what decades of industry leave behind.
Johns Manville: The Asbestos Legacy
Johns Manville operated a massive asbestos products manufacturing plant in Waukegan from the early 1900s through 1998. The facility produced insulation, roofing materials, and other asbestos-containing products for nearly a century.
The plant site and surrounding area are contaminated with asbestos fibers in the soil. While asbestos is primarily a respiratory hazard (inhalation causes mesothelioma and lung cancer), its presence in the soil creates exposure risks during construction, excavation, or any activity that disturbs contaminated ground.
The Johns Manville site is undergoing remediation, but the footprint of contamination is large. Asbestos doesn’t degrade — it’s a mineral fiber that persists indefinitely in the environment.
For drinking water, asbestos fibers can enter water supplies through the erosion of natural deposits or from aging asbestos-cement water pipes. Many older water systems, including portions of Waukegan’s, used asbestos-cement pipes in their distribution networks. The EPA’s MCL for asbestos in drinking water is 7 million fibers per liter (for fibers longer than 10 micrometers).
Outboard Marine Corporation: PCBs in the Harbor
The Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) manufactured outboard motors and other marine products in Waukegan for decades. The manufacturing process used PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) as hydraulic fluid and in other applications. PCBs were discharged into Waukegan Harbor and the adjacent ditch system.
The EPA designated the Outboard Marine Corporation Superfund site in 1983. PCB concentrations in harbor sediments were among the highest measured in the Great Lakes region. Fish consumption advisories were issued for Waukegan Harbor and remained in effect for years.
The cleanup has been extensive:
- Contaminated sediments were dredged from the harbor
- An on-site containment facility was built for PCB-contaminated material
- Groundwater monitoring continues at the former OMC properties
- Institutional controls restrict land use at the most contaminated areas
PCBs are persistent organic pollutants that bioaccumulate in the food chain. They’re linked to cancer, immune system effects, reproductive disorders, and neurological effects. While the harbor cleanup has significantly reduced PCB levels in sediments and water, the legacy persists in the food web.
North Shore Gas: Coal Tar Contamination
Like many older industrial cities, Waukegan had manufactured gas plants (MGPs) that produced gas from coal for lighting and heating. These operations produced coal tar as a byproduct — a complex mixture containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), many of which are carcinogenic.
Coal tar contamination from former MGP sites in Waukegan has affected soil and, in some cases, groundwater. PAHs are relatively immobile in groundwater compared to some contaminants, but they persist for decades in contaminated soil.
Remediation of former MGP sites in Illinois is overseen by the Illinois EPA, and cleanup at Waukegan locations has been ongoing.
Drinking Water: Lake Michigan’s Buffer
Despite the industrial contamination on land, Waukegan’s drinking water benefits from its source: Lake Michigan. The city’s water intake is located offshore, drawing water from the open lake rather than near-shore areas most affected by local contamination.
Lake Michigan is one of the highest-quality drinking water sources in the Midwest. Its volume provides enormous dilution capacity, and the offshore intake avoids the worst of harbor and shoreline contamination.
Waukegan’s water treatment plant uses conventional treatment — coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection — to produce finished water that meets all EPA standards.
According to the city’s consumer confidence reports, the treated water consistently meets MCLs for all regulated contaminants. Some parameters worth noting:
- Lead — detected in some distribution system samples, reflecting the age of the city’s pipe network rather than the source water
- Disinfection byproducts — present within regulatory limits
- Fluoride — added for dental health at standard levels
The water quality at the tap is solid. The concern in Waukegan is less about what comes out of the faucet and more about the environmental contamination that surrounds the community.
Environmental Justice in Waukegan
Waukegan’s population is predominantly Latino and lower-income. The industrial facilities that created the contamination provided jobs — but the environmental burden remained after the jobs left.
The EPA’s Environmental Justice Screening Tool identifies Waukegan as having elevated environmental justice concerns across multiple indicators: proximity to Superfund sites, hazardous waste, air pollution, and socioeconomic vulnerability.
Cleanup decisions, land reuse planning, and health monitoring all carry environmental justice implications. Communities like Waukegan often have less political influence in shaping those decisions, even though they bear the greatest exposure burden.
What Residents Can Do
Waukegan’s tap water meets federal standards, but given the city’s older infrastructure:
Run the tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before drinking, especially first thing in the morning. This flushes water that may have absorbed lead from older pipes.
Consider a point-of-use filter for drinking water. A reverse osmosis system removes lead, asbestos fibers, and a wide range of other contaminants. Even a certified carbon filter can reduce lead and improve taste.
If you fish in Waukegan Harbor or nearby Lake Michigan shoreline areas, check the Illinois fish consumption advisories. Some species may still carry elevated PCB or mercury levels.
Don’t disturb soil near known contamination sites without checking with the Illinois EPA or local health department. Asbestos-contaminated soil, in particular, should never be excavated without proper controls.
If you have a private well (uncommon in the city but possible in surrounding areas), test it. Groundwater contamination from industrial sites doesn’t respect property lines.
If you’re concerned about your water quality, a certified water treatment professional can test your water and recommend the right solution for your home.
The Bigger Picture
Waukegan’s story is the story of dozens of industrial cities around the Great Lakes. Heavy industry built these communities, provided livelihoods for generations, and left behind contamination that will take decades more to fully address.
The drinking water is safe. But “safe drinking water” doesn’t capture the full picture of environmental health in a city where you can walk from a Superfund site to the beach in five minutes. Waukegan’s residents deserve both clean water and clean soil — and the ongoing cleanup work is moving, slowly, toward that goal.
Sources: EPA Superfund site profiles (Outboard Marine Corporation, Johns Manville), EPA ECHO database, Illinois EPA remediation records, Waukegan Water Department consumer confidence reports, EPA EJScreen.