Water Well Expansion Project
Water Well Expansion
In 2018 and again in 2024, the City completed a Water Utility Master Plan which documented the community’s current and future water supply, treatment, and distribution needs. As detailed in Section 2 of the Plan – Community Needs, the City anticipates significant growth over the next 5-10 years. For planning purposes, this growth was anticipated to result in an increased maximum day water usage. As a result, the currently utilized maximum day demand of 9.74 MGD may increase to 11.75 MGD in 2033. Therefore, it was recommended that the City continue to maintain/rehabilitate all existing supplies, as well as evaluate alternatives for additional water supply sources. Alternatives reviewed for additional supplies include surface water (Lake Michigan and Fox River) as well as both shallow and deep groundwater wells.
The ion exchange units and HMO pressure filters at Well #8 are capable of treating more water than Well #8 is capable of producing. This additional treatment capacity was identified as being able to treat the production capacity of an additional well in the area. Another Galesville aquifer well could be drilled and treated at the Ohio Avenue Facility. An additional well would increase the region that receives water from Ohio Avenue, as the water currently only meets the demands of the industrial park that it is located within. Increasing the area served by the Well #8 Facility would increase access to softened water and could decrease water quality complaints in the surrounding neighborhoods. The additional well would not be able to be drilled at the existing Ohio Avenue location, as this close proximity to Well #8 would decrease the static water elevation below acceptable levels. Standard practice typically dictates wells in the same aquifer be located at least 1,500 ft away from each other.
Two locations have been identified for the potential deep well site. Both sites are owned by the City of St. Charles, meaning no land acquisition would be required. The first site is at the southwest corner of the intersection of Ohio Avenue and Kautz Road. The second site is along Kautz Road approximately 2,000 feet south of the Ohio Avenue intersection, across from the entrance to the DuPage Airport at International Boulevard.
To select a site a preliminary evaluation of each site’s feasibility, raw water main routing, and conceptual cost were developed. To compare the two sites, the cost estimates do not include the new well itself, well pad, or vault as these are anticipated to be the same regardless of the site selected. As a result of the feasibility study the cost-effective location of Kautz Road, across from the entrance to the DuPage Airport, was selected.
Projects and Funding:
The city was awarded a low interest loan through the IEPA’s Public Water Supply Loan Program for these key water system improvement projects. The project includes the following improvements. Drilling and development of a new well source, constructing a raw water main from the new well to the existing water treatment plant of Well #8, rehab and reconstruction of the existing well #8 treatment facilities to accommodate the additional source. The three projects had estimated costs of $17,500,000.
The projects are located at three locations; the first site for the new well will be just west of the Kautz Rd intersection and the entrance of the West Chicago airport. The second location is the installation of a raw water main connecting the new site and the existing treatment plant. The main construction will be along Kautz Rd and Ohio Ave. The last location will be at the existing well 8 sites at the intersection of Ohio Ave and 37th Ave. These drinking water improvement project has been identified and approved as part of FY 25/26 & 26/27 budgets.
Project 1: Drilling of New Well #14:
The city will be drilling a new well at the intersection of Kautz Road and International Drive. This well will be an Ironton / Galesville well in the general depth of about 1500’ deep. This well is project to produce about 1,000 – 1,500 GPM. Water from this well will be treated at an existing water treatment plant at the intersection of 37th Ave and Ohio Ave.
This project was bid and awarded in Spring of 2025; well drilling is expected to start late fall of 2025. Final site work and setting the well will be completed by the spring of 2027.
Well #14 Site:
Project 2: Raw Water Main Ohio and Kautz Rd:
The city will be installing a raw water line from the new well site to existing water treatment plant at the intersection of 37th Ave and Ohio Ave. This line will transmit well water to the existing water treatment plant for filtering and softening.
This project was bid in the spring of 2025 and is expected to start September 2025 and be completed by December 2025.
Raw Water Line Route:
