DuPage Water Commission Facilities
The Commission added 2.4 miles of a 12 foot diameter tunnel to the City's distribution system. This was constructed through limestone, 150 feet below the surface. The tunnel ends at the Lexington Pumping Station, located at Lexington and Laramie, near Chicago's western city limits. The Lexington Station and the tunnel connecting it to the Central Park Station were constructed for the City of Chicago by the Commission under a buy back agreement.

The Lexington Pumping Station is the largest treated water pumping station in the State of Illinois. Excavating all the way down into bedrock, 90 feet deep, the construction of this station took 36 months to complete. Currently, the station can pump 220 million gallons of water per day. With modifications, it will be capable of pumping even more when required in the future.

There are eight pumps that send water to DuPage County. Each pump has a daily capacity of 37 million gallons. In addition, two 120 million gallon per day pumps are used to fill a 30 million gallon reservoir just east of the station. The reservoir water supplements the City's tunnel system during high demand periods. Each of the large pumps, by itself, could fill the reservoir in about six hours.

The Lexington Pumping Station draws water from two 96-inch diameter pipes connected to the end of the 12-foot diameter tunnel. The eight 37 million gallon per day pumps push the water up to the discharge pipes. The water then continues its journey to DuPage County through a 90-inch and 72-inch diameter water transmission main.