Elmhurst Bills Firm That Caused Water Main Break

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst has submitted a bill to a Nicor contractor for the costs related to a water main break in early July that officials said affected a quarter of the city.

The bill to NPL totals $93,505, which includes the costs for city employees, equipment, contractors and lost water, City Manager Jim Grabowski told the City Council on Monday.

The lost water was estimated to cost about $40,000.

"We will expect NPL, as they have promised all along, to reimburse us for that," Grabowski said.

On July 5, NPL caused a 12-inch water main to separate during the contractor's deep excavation near the main, officials said.

Within 15 minutes of being notified of the leak, the city issued a public statement about it, Grabowski said at a July council meeting. It also immediately issued a boil order for a fourth of the city because of a big drop in water pressure, he said.

The boil order lasted four days.

The affected area was bordered by the Union Pacific railroad tracks on the north, Butterfield Road on the south, York Street on the west and Interstate 294 on the east.

In July, Patch filed a public records request related to documents on the costs of the main break and correspondence between the city and NPL.