Geneva alderpersons this week pushed forward plans to address sewer overflow from heavy rains under the Fox River, part of an $11.6 million project expected to take about 18 months.

A final City Council vote is still needed before construction can proceed.

Geneva’s Committee of the Whole approved and recommended approval of a series of actions to reconstruct a single existing 20-inch sanitary sewer and build a new, second 20-inch sanitary sewer under the Fox River. The work will connect the west side of the city to the treatment plant, plans show.

Deuchler Engineering – now Fehr Graham – recommended the work in a 2021 study of the city’s sanitary sewer overflows during heavy rain events and redundancy necessary for maintenance.

The existing 20-inch sewer pipe is more than 50 years old, engineers said then.

The city council approved an amendment to a 2022 professional services agreement with Fehr Graham for the design of the new sanitary sewer river crossing and a screening building for $54,000. The project budget caps costs at just over $1 million.

A screening building is the first stage of a wastewater treatment plant where solids are removed from incoming wastewater.

“This amendment is requested due to unanticipated hours required for the design and permitting of this project,” City Administrator Alex Voigt said.

Acting as the Committee of the Whole, they also recommended approval of:

• A $4.3 million contract with Whittaker Construction & Excavating Inc., based in Earlville, to rebuild the existing sanitary sewer and build a new second sanitary sewer that crosses under the Fox River. The cost will be funded as part of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Water Pollution Control Loan Program, officials said.
• A $987,000 professional services agreement with Fehr Graham, with an office in Aurora, for engineering of the new and reconstructed dual sewer lines under the Fox River. Work is expected to take 18 months. The professional services agreement represents 9.3% of the projected cost of construction, which is $10.6 million, documents show. That brings the total projected cost to about $11.6 million. The company will designate a resident project representative to inspect the daily work, process change orders, review pay requests and submit them to the IEPA for loan disbursement, documents show.
• An agreement with the Union Pacific Railroad because the existing sewer is on the west side of the river train trestle, at no cost to the city.
• An agreement with the Union Pacific Railroad to have a fiber optic conduit next to the sanitary sewer on the west side of the river under the train trestle, at no cost to the city.

All votes taken Monday were 8-0 with two alderpersons absent.