Rochelle and Rochelle Municipal Utilities held a ribboncutting ceremony for RMU’s new well house at Well 8 off Caron Road on Monday.

Well 8 is in the heart of Rochelle’s industrial park and was originally constructed in 1961. In the 1990s, high iron levels were detected and the well was taken offline. As industrial expansion continued, the need to meet water demand rose, and a study was done to see if Well 8 could be repaired to make it a viable water source.

Work began to secure funding and build a new well house that would house an iron removal filter. In fall 2024, the construction of the new well house began. The $7.4 million project was 100% funded through the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency State Revolving Fund with full principal forgiveness.

Well 8 will now use a pressure filtering system to remove iron, with the capability to remove radium if the need arises. It is designed to pump and treat 2.6 million gallons per day with the well drilled at a depth of 1,000 feet.

“This is probably my favorite water project we’ve done, because we know we’ve had issues with iron here for the longest time,” City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh said at the ribboncutting. “This wouldn’t be possible without an amazing mayor and city council that continue to support infrastructure upgrades. In the eight years I’ve been here we’ve spent roughly $100 million on infrastructure reinvestments across all departments. That’s only because our mayor and city council support us in those endeavors.”

RMU Superintendent of Water/Water Reclamation Adam Lanning said that when he started with the city in 2014, he started questioning where the iron problems came from. A split casing was found as the problem and a fix was attempted in 2020. Due to a bend in the well when it was drilled, the fix could not be made.

The city then decided to build an iron removal plant, and eventually received the principal forgiveness opportunity.

“We’re using chlorine to remove the iron,” Lanning said. “We’re set up for the future if we have a radium problem. We have the infrastructure to remove radium without any added cost. This is one of five wells we have in town. We have a capacity of about 9.6 billion gallons per day city wide. Since 2014, this is the last well we’ve completely rebuilt brand new. It’s all done above ground. We’re proud of it. We’ve spent over $20 million on our wells and roughly half of that was forgiven.”

Rochelle Mayor John Bearrows thanked RMU’s water and water reclamation teams for their work on the project and in general.

“We’re not here to just cut a ribbon on a well,” Bearrows said. “We’re here to cut a ribbon on a project that sustains life in Rochelle. Water is the number-one element to supporting life. It’s not just supporting life. What if our fire department went to a fire and there was no water in the hydrants? It’s a key element for our community with safety and supporting life. We go to the sink and turn the faucet on and we don’t even think about all the things that are going on in the background to make that possible. I really appreciate everything our team does.”

The ribboncutting was the final city event for Fiegenschuh, who is leaving the city to take on the position of city administrator in Washington, Illinois after eight years as Rochelle’s city manager.

Bearrows thanked Fiegenschuh for his work on the Well 8 project and the other endeavors the city has taken on over eight years.

“He has been great to work with,” Bearrows said. “There have been so many projects that have come about during his time here. I want to thank our city council. Jeff’s job is to find the money and Adam did that work on this project, too. I want to thank Jeff for everything he’s done. Without his leadership, it would be very tough for the city council. Thanks to everyone who made this happen. It’s another great project for the city of Rochelle.”