Village of Oswego Committee of the Whole met Aug. 4.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
CALL TO ORDER
President Troy Parlier called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Board Members Physically Present: President Troy Parlier and Trustees Terry Olson, Pam Parr, Judy Sollinger and
Brian Thomas.
Board Members Absent: Trustee James Marter II and Trustee Luis Perez.
Staff Physically Present: Dan Di Santo, Village Administrator; Christina Burns, Asst. Village Administrator/HR Director; Tina Touchette, Village Clerk; Jeff Burgner, Police Chief; Jenette Sturges, Community Engagement Coordinator, Marketing; Joe Renzetti, IT/GIS Director; Mark Horton, Finance Director; and Rod Zenner, Community Development Director; Jennifer Hughes, Public Works Director; Carri Parker, Purchasing Manager; Susan Quasney, Project Engineer; Tim Zasada, Asst. Public Works Director Utilities; Zach Jardine, Facilities Operations Supervisor; Allison Gerber, Public Works Intern; Ryan Morton, Village Attorney; and Karl Ottosen, Village Attorney.
PUBLIC FORUM
Public Forum was opened at 6:02 p.m.
Gerald Sternberg addressed the Board regarding municipal broadband services; it is faster and cheaper with free hotspots; can work with existing broadband company; wearing of masks/face shields should be mandated; if someone doesn’t want to wear a mask, then they should be in trouble; city needs to enforce masks and social distancing; need to change washrooms in retail stores to self-opening doors and change out hand dryers.
There was no one else who requested to speak; the Public Forum was closed at 6:10 p.m.
OLD BUSINESS
F.1 Alternative Water Source Evaluation
Director Hughes, Project Engineer Quasney and Asst. Director Zasada addressed the Board regarding alternative water sources:
In March there was a presentation on the need for a new water source. The deep groundwater aquifer will be at severe risk of depletion between 2030 and 2050 and the Village cannot continue relying on the current system as the primary source of water. Joliet has a more accelerated timeline than Oswego and needs to be off the aquifer by 2030. They are currently designing a new pipeline to pull water from Lake Michigan. This water source will be made accessible to surrounding communities, but they are requiring commitment on the part of municipalities who wish to connect by May 2021. This relatively quick response time is why staff is presenting this issue to the Board tonight.
Several studies were commissioned over the last 16 years. The first tried to anticipate water needs as Oswego grows, along with the needs of Yorkville and Montgomery. A second investigated obtaining water from the Fox River. A third looked at connecting to the DuPage Water Commission line to bring in Lake Michigan water. A water model of the current water distribution system was developed as well. Once it is updated to include more recent development changes, it will allow the consultant to evaluate how the proposed options would affect the existing Village system, using computer simulation. Last month, staff posted an RFQ to find a consultant who would investigate the Joliet option for Lake Michigan water and then compare the three different alternatives. Each water source alternative has a unique set of variables and requirements, making for a difficult comparison. Some items can be easily compared in terms of costs, but others have to do with preferences, such as variance in taste, the potential for odor, or the Village’s level of control in source water decisions.
While the cost will be significant, this project is not solely about cost. Having an adequate amount of good quality water is an important component of any community. This project will secure the Village’s water source, and its potential for development, for the next 50 years. Staff recognizes there will also be a need for support beyond the logistics of the water supply. Staff anticipates the need for significant public relations:
• Explain why we need to make this move
• Fully engage residents and other stakeholders through the long and complex process
• Legal help to secure contracts with the chosen provider, secure required agreements with other municipalities and to secure land required for the pipelines
While cost is not the only consideration, it is a large one. It is unlikely that any grants will be available to help offset the cost of this project, so the consultant is being tasked with investigating options for low interest loans or bonds.
The term and amount financed will have a big impact on the rates customers will pay for water. The consultant chosen for this project is being asked to develop a comprehensive report that will pull together all the information gathered in the previous reports, updating and adjusting the data as necessary to develop an “apples-to-apples” comparison of the three alternatives. Each of the three options has different requirements, needs and restrictions, capital costs, ongoing operational costs, financing options, and fee structures, which will be entered into a large decision matrix. In addition to the decision matrix, there are several other considerations included in the scope of service:
¬ Based on previous estimates of growth and demand, it was thought that a new well may be required before 2030. We are asking the consultant to revisit this and consider several questions:
√ Would building a new well give us extra time until we needed to get off the aquifer?
√ Will connecting earlier to a new water source buy us time before we must build the well, or maybe eliminate the need?
¬ Joliet timeline is dictated, other options are not. If Joliet is not chosen, how long do we have to construct the chosen option?
¬ Will increased conservation measures buy us extra time to convert?
¬ Land acquisition will be required for all three. The transmission main for the DuPage line is projected to follow the 95th corridor through Aurora which is currently mostly undeveloped. At this point it would be a relatively simple process to obtain property for this option, but Aurora has construction of that roadway in its comprehensive plan. Waiting too long to begin acquisition may result in considerably more expense and complexity.
¬ Short- and long-term needs of existing system will provide water source for decades. While some modifications may be required at time of connection, some are anticipated in the future due to projected growth patterns. For example, do we need larger pipes and more capacity in the future.
¬ System continuity during the transition
¬ Water quality; taste, smell, and treatment requirements. There is a higher variability between Fox river than Lake Michigan water
¬ Contracts and agreements.
¬ Do we build, maintain, and operate a water treatment plant with the Fox River option; do we establish our own water commission; or do we participate in another water commission? All options are on the table, but the level of control over the process is vastly different
¬ The feasibility of facilitating a connection for Yorkville and Montgomery remains a priority for the Village to achieve a regional solution
Technical water system evaluations, differences in the treatment of the new sources and the water quality need to be included in the scope for all three options. The Fox River pumps raw water into the plant and will use conventional surface water treatment, this process involves:
• Pre-treatment for taste and odor control
• PH adjustment
• Removal of deposits by clarification
• Re-adjustment of PH
• Filtration
• Final chemical addition – chlorine and phosphate
DuPage Water Commission (DWC) and Joliet will deliver finished water and will only require chlorine adjustment and phosphate addition for corrosion control. For both options, the water will be much softer than our current source. The Fox River would need to be staffed 24/7/365 with approximately 8 to 12 operators and some additional staff; there will also be a yearly operating cost. Our current wells will be used for low river flow and algae bloom events. DWC and Joliet option would not require any new staff, but the wells would stay online for emergency back up and new receiving stations will be added. The radium removal contract would be terminated for all three options. Surface water has very low levels of radium or none at all.
The existing storage and distribution system will need to be evaluated including updating the existing water model.
The water model will simulate all three sources as they enter the Village and identify potential areas of improvement needed for each source. The immediate need for storage and or the projected timeline for additional storage will need to be determined. Each source will hydraulically be different due to plant or receiving station locations. Hydraulic models of the incoming pipes need to be assessed due to the geographic grade changes for all the selections. This will show if pumps are needed to push water uphill or pressure and gravity will allow the water to move downhill. The raw water piping system for the Fox River source needs to determine if all of the Village wells will be needed and can be piped back to the plant. A timeline needs to be considered for the need of a new well to provide for population growth and the need for future upgrades to existing wells, due to aquifer depletion, must be determined while the alternate water source is being constructed.
The radium removal contract for the existing wells expires in 2023. A contract extension will need to be negotiated for the interval before we start to receive the new source. The current ground water source has radium levels above the regulated levels and removal is mandatory. Part of the requirements for IDNR requires that we evaluate our nonrevenue water, this includes main breaks, service leaks, hydrant flushing and unseen leaks within the distribution system. Unaccounted for water loss must be under 10% of the annual water received from Lake
Michigan. Ongoing projects such as the meter change out program provides improved accuracy of water consumption. Water main replacements in areas known for deteriorating mains allows for fewer breaks and less lost water. The Water Assessment program on tonight’s Village board meeting is a program that the Village has been doing in past years. The program includes leak detection, which uses very sensitive listening devices to find leaks. Valve exercising and hydrant maintenance keep the system working correctly and identifies repairs and other potential leaks in the system.
New to the program this year is the hydrant flow testing which shows how much available water can be drawn out of a fire hydrant to fight fires. It also is used to evaluate the system flow characteristics and identify areas that need water main replaced due to water mains being undersized. This program also helps with the ISO rating (Insurance Services Office) for the Village and Fire Department and can influence insurance rates.
Board and staff discussion focused on new well would need to be built in 2026= $6 million; new well is part of the scope; Well 3 and 4 are the oldest; need to watch Well 9; need to upgrade Well 9’s motor; no water softener needed if going to any of the three options; need to choose a consultant at the next Board meeting; will be asking Montgomery and Yorkville if they want to share the cost of the consultant; $100,000 is currently in the budget; scope has a lot of moving parts; staff will hold a workshop for decisions; rates are not the only considerations; may need to make a decision now to avoid costs later; have no control over how much the aquifer is drawing down; testing assumptions on our own systems; how it will be financed; legal implications in contracts; need radium removal if choosing the Fox River option; long term exposure of radium; $400,000 per year for removal; other municipalities pay a lot more; pros and cons of keeping radium removal; still some maintenance involved; economic issue; how long to extend the contract; consultant can help with answering a lot of the questions; staff will be coming back with more information.
There was no further discussion.
NEW BUSINESS
There was no new business.
CLOSED SESSION
There was no Closed Session held.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 6:39 p.m.
http://www.oswegoil.org/pdf/8-4-20-cotw.pdf
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