Elmhurst, Villa Park and Oakbrook Terrace are set to benefit from $500,000 in federal funding for a regional project to strengthen DuPage County's water infrastructure.

U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, who represents Illinois' 6th Congressional District, announced the funding Friday, Sept. 18, saying it would support the Lake Michigan Regional Water Supply Initiative. The initiative aims to ensure DuPage County communities have access to safe, reliable water, Casten said on X.

The money is a form of Community Project Funding, a process through which individual members of Congress direct federal dollars to specific local projects. Casten said he helped secure the appropriation and described it as an investment in the region's water supply and electric grid stability.

The Elmhurst-based DuPage Water Commission is the local agency behind the initiative.

On Saturday, Sept. 12, Casten joined commission members and the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference to celebrate the funding, which he called a landmark regional infrastructure project. The commission is headquartered at 600 E. Butterfield Road in Elmhurst.

The Daily Herald reported Sept. 10 that the commission received the $500,000 as part of a plan to build a system to draw water from Lake Michigan. The Herald cited a total project cost of roughly $6 billion, though that figure could not be verified from other publicly available records because the full article is behind a paywall.

The federal dollars add to a separate $1 million investment announced in Elmhurst on Aug. 27 by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who represents the neighboring 8th District. That funding targets a Lake Michigan water project focused on microplastics, PFAS contamination, lead risks and aging systems serving roughly 2 million people across DuPage and Cook counties, according to a Patch report summarizing coverage from India West.

Whether the two appropriations fund the same initiative is unclear.

Between the two announcements, federal officials have directed at least $1.5 million toward Lake Michigan water infrastructure serving DuPage County since Aug. 27.