Sewer contractor bumps water line

LIBERTYVILLE -- A village sewer contractor working along the North Shore Trail right-of-way inadvertently bumped into a buried Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency transmission line that feeds Lake Michigan drinking water to Mundelein.

Fortunately, the contractor discovered the problem before any damage was done.

Tuesday night, village trustees approved a contractual change order of $21,677 with Mauro Sewer Construction Inc. to correct the misguided alignments.

The water line mix-up was discovered shortly after the contractor began construction of Libertyville's Burridge Court bypass sanitary sewer extension along the North Shore Trail right-of-way, from Dymond Road to Dawes Street, according to John Heinz, the village's director of public works.

The North Shore Trail, the former North Shore electric rail line, but now a popular bike and running path, is a main JAWA water transmission supply route for its central Lake County intergovernmental member communities.

Contractors found the transmission line located approximately 12 to 14 feet south of where engineering plans showed the JAWA pipe was placed during the design phase of the project.

The variance not only required modification of the village's sewer alignment, but also required substitution of a portion of the sewer pipe material to a more expensive grade of water main piping.

Since construction adjustments were required, the village decided to make additional pavement patches along the designated route.

At Heinz's request, the board then approved a final project cost adjustment of $193,542. In spite of the change order, the figure is still substantially below the current budgeted figure of $305,000 that was originally earmarked for the project.