About KRCCD
The Kinkaid-Reed's Creek Conservancy District was created by referendum vote in June, 1963. The District boundaries are 13 townships all within Jackson County, Illinois. The primary purpose for the creation of the Conservancy District was to build Kinkaid Lake for a municipal water supply with tourism and recreation as a side benefit for the area. Crisenberry Dam was completed in 1971 and Kinkaid Lake filled in 1972. A regional water system was constructed and public use recreational facilities were developed.
The general purpose of Kinkaid-Reed's Creek Conservancy District is to provide a multiple purpose reservoir that will meet municipal and industrial water needs and to develop public use facilities for Kinkaid Lake.
Kinkaid-Reed's Creek Conservancy District is governed by a District Board of Trustees. Four members are appointed by the Jackson County Board and the other three members are appointed by the Murphysboro City Council. According to state law, no more than two trustees from each governmental unit can belong to the same political party. The Board meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00PM in the Water Plant office. During the meeting in May of each year, the Board elects a President, Vice President, and Secretary. The District Manager is the chief operating officer of the District and is appointed by the Board of Trustees.
Formation of Kinkaid Area Water System
Kinkaid Lake's main purpose for being constructed was to provide potable drinking water to the area. During the construction of the Lake, the State of Illinois Division of Water Resources paid for the construction of the water treatment plant intake structure and raw water pumping station which was completed in 1973. The Kinkaid Reed's Creek Conservancy District through a 50% matching Housing and Urban Development grant {HUD grant #FR-231) and water revenue bonds paid for and constructed the existing water treatment plant and distribution system. At the time the lake was being cleared and the dam was being constructed, Cedar Lake was also beginning to get under construction as another potable water source. The City of Carbondale was pumping water from Crab Orchard Lake to provide water to their citizens and the areas Northeast, East, and Southwest. The US Department of Fisheries informed the City of Carbondale that they were going to reduce the amount of water that they could draw from Crab Orchard, so Kinkaid Area Water System was designed to provide all the communities in Jackson County except the City of Carbondale. During the construction of Cedar Lake, a raw water intake and pumping station was constructed and Carbondale began drawing water from Cedar Lake and was able to continue to provide water to the areas Northeast, East, and Southeast. Since Kinkaid Area Water System was already designed, the system was over capacity. The customers at that time were the City of Murphysboro, Murdale Water District, Village of DeSoto, Village of Elkville, City of Ava, Village of Campbell Hill, and Village of Willisville.
In 1994/1995, the water treatment plant was modernized through a renovation project with the issuance of water revenue bonds in the amount of 5 million dollars. The renovation upgraded the treatment process, installed all new electrical, plumbing, pumping equipment, and chemical feed equipment. The distribution system was also upgraded with some additional distribution lines and pump stations. Since that time to date, the Oraville Water District, Gorham Water District, Elverado Water District, and Washington County Water Company has been added to Kinkaid's customers.
Today, KAWS supplies some of the best drinking water in the nation to its customers. The water plant treats and distributes an average of approximately 2.2 million gallons a day. The Water Plant staff takes great pride in providing the best potable drinking water possible to all the people who depend on Kinkaid Water.
