Latest / Kendall County News - Shaw Local / Yorkville approves $55,000 water audit; must calculate water use and loss for Lake Michigan water project

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Yorkville approves $55,000 water audit; must calculate water use and loss for Lake Michigan water project · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Yorkville approves $ 55, 000 water audit, must calculate water use and
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  Speaker 1: loss for Lake Michigan Water Project. Written by Joey Weslow.
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  Speaker 1: This article is being read by an automated voice brought
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  Speaker 1: to you by Everlit. The city of Yorkville is required
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  Speaker 1: to test just how much water the city consumes ahead
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  Speaker 1: of hooking onto Lake Michigan water. A $ 55, 000 audit by
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  Speaker 1: Engineering Enterprises, Inc. of Sugar Grove, will help determine how
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  Speaker 1: much water goes rushing through Yorkville's pipes, and crucially, how
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  Speaker 1: much of it is lost to leaky pipes and water
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  Speaker 1: main ruptures, system inefficiencies, and transmission issues. Reducing the city's
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  Speaker 1: non-revenue water loss to 10% was previously a key provision
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  Speaker 1: by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to greenlight the $ 224. 4
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  Speaker 1: million Lake Michigan water sourcing project. The city is currently
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  Speaker 1: projected to first receive Lake Michigan water from the expanded
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  Speaker 1: pipeline system by the summer of 2028. Since construction began,
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  Speaker 1: cities participating in the joint effort noticed the more underground
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  Speaker 1: work they did replacing older water main pipes, the harder
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  Speaker 1: it was to reduce non-water loss. Alderman Craig Soling previously said,
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  Speaker 1: with new piping, you're creating higher volume and higher pressure.
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  Speaker 1: which then erupts through the weaker parts of the water
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  Speaker 1: mains further down the line. The new piping is creating
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  Speaker 1: pressure to increase, and it's going to find the path
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  Speaker 1: of least resistance in the weakest spots, he said. Increased
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  Speaker 1: water main ruptures and higher volumes of water needed to
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  Speaker 1: flush new systems have increased water loss figures, Soling said.
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  Speaker 1: City Administrator Bart Olson has said the YIPA has since
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  Speaker 1: taken under review the 10% non-revenue water loss figure and
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  Speaker 1: will likely alter figures. The metric is under review by
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  Speaker 1: the IEPA and is likely to change to make it
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  Speaker 1: more nuanced than just a straight 10% calculation for which
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  Speaker 1: we believe the city will be in compliance by the
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  Speaker 1: time we connect, Olson said during the August 25th City
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  Speaker 1: Council meeting. The water audit, which will cover October 1st,
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  Speaker 1: 2025 through September 30th, 2026, will calculate how much water
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  Speaker 1: the city pumps and how much is lost. The figures
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  Speaker 1: will be submitted by the city to both the IEPA
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  Speaker 1: and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources as part of
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  Speaker 1: the project's allocation permit. Having EEI on board will be
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  Speaker 1: a tremendous help to staff when trying to keep up
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  Speaker 1: with the possible changes, Public Works Director Eric Deuce said
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  Speaker 1: in city documents. EEI has performed the city's annual water
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  Speaker 1: audits for several years, according to city documents. Even with
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  Speaker 1: water main overhauls across the city, workers have only been
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  Speaker 1: able to reduce the non-revenue water loss rate to 13 percent.
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  Speaker 1: the city has already invested almost $ 20 million in water
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  Speaker 1: main improvements. Olson said the new IPA water loss standards
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  Speaker 1: will affect all communities connecting to Lake Michigan water, including Joliet, Oswego,
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  Speaker 1: and Montgomery. He previously said while the water main construction
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  Speaker 1: improvements in Yorkville have not helped the city meet the
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  Speaker 1: original 10% water loss benchmark, the investment still sets the
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  Speaker 1: city up for long-term sustainability. To help pay for the
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  Speaker 1: Lake Michigan Water Project, the city approved 20% annual water
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  Speaker 1: rates for five consecutive years. It's obviously been a significant
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  Speaker 1: capital infusion on our residents' part to do that, but
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  Speaker 1: long term it should pay dividends with reduced water loss
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  Speaker 1: figures years into the future, Olson said.