Northbrook Considering Replacing Waukegan Water Main in 2013

A 47-year-old water main on that disrupts service to residents each time it breaks and snarls traffic each time it is repaired may be replaced next year.

Trustees may decide this fall if funds are available to put replacing the main, which has broken five times already this year, on its five-year list of capital improvements spanning from 2013 to 2018.

Until then, public works staff is assessing how much it would cost to put together a survey, which would become the building blocks for the design of the project. The report is slated to come back to the trustees in July.

Once the go-ahead for the survey is done and completed, and if the village gets the necessary permits from state agencies to do the work, and if trustees give the go-ahead, construction could begin in May.

Permits must be obtained from Illinois Department of Transportation must be consulted because Waukegan Road is a state route. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency also must issue a permit because the agency is responsible for water issues in the state.

Completion could be slated for the end of August. The estimated cost could be $358,000; IDOT requirements, permitting and pavement restoration could add to the price tag. Other improvements could be considered as well, depending on the availability of funds.

"We'll just have to see how this fits into the CIP. It might just put (other projects) back, Mayor Sandra Frum said during a presentation about the project at the June 12 regular meeting. "We have to see what repairs in water fund can bear."

But until it's resolved, "that thing's going to continue to give us headaches if not heartaches between now and then," said Trustee A.C. Buehler III, speaking to the issue during the meeting.

Two huge water mains rest underneath Waukegan Road between Shermer Road and Walters Avenue. One is a 4-inch main between Chapel and Walters, laid in 1922. It's only had four documented breaks, said Rich Daubert, a project manager for Northbrook's department of public works and engineering.

The second is an 8-inch main between Shermer and Walters. It's located under the east edge of Waukegan Road. It's had 21 documented breaks, five so far this year, he said. The last one was June 4; one lane of Waukegan Road was for about a week. Neither main is slated for replacement in the current 5-year capital improvement plan.

When a main breaks on this line, as many as 65 homes and businesses lose their water. There are challenges to repairing it. It is under the east edge of Waukegan and the outside north bound lane has to be closed, Daubert said. There are 12 inches of concrete and 6-inches of asphalt on top. The concrete and asphalt both have to be replaced, and that could take up to a week to complete, he said.

Valves have been installed in certain areas, which have reduced the number of customers that lose water during a break, he added.