Yorkville lettuce farm to drill new water well

YORKVILLE – The greenhouse lettuce farm under construction on Yorkville’s far northwest side will drill a new well to supply water for its salad greens growing operation.

The Yorkville City Council on July 25 approved a request from grower Bright Farms to drill a 640-foot well nearer to the production facility’s head house than an existing well on the 100-acre site at the northeast corner of Eldamain and Corneils roads.

Unable to use chlorinated drinking water for growing lettuce, Bright Farms needs well water even as the city of Yorkville prepares to move away from ground wells as its water source in favor of Lake Michigan water.

Approval by the council came on a divided vote. With four alderman voting yes, three voting no and one absent, Mayor John Purcell voted in favor to produce a 5-3 majority.

Aldermen voting no were Craig Soling, Joe Plocher and Chris Fundhouser. Those voting in favor included aldermen Matt Marek, Seaver Tarulis, Rusty Corneils and Ken Koch. Alderman Dan Transier was absent.

Bright Farms will transfer the pump from the existing well to the new well and then cap the old well, City Administrator Bart Olson said.

In a report to the council, City Engineer Brad Sanderson said the new well, which will draw water from the Ancell Sandstone Aquifer, will not affect city wells. However, several private nearby farm wells may be affected.

“It is reasonable to expect that the Bright Farms well will create 40 to 60 feet of additional drawdown in farm wells located within 15,000 feet of the Bright Farms well over the long term,” Sanderson said.

“If an individual well is operated in a manner that currently lowers the water level in the well to less than 40 feet above the pump intake, the Bright Farms well may impact the operation of the well.”

Sanderson recommended that individual pumps located within a mile of the new Bright Farms well should be lowered if they are operating with less than 40 feet of water above the pump intake.

When approving the lettuce farm project a year ago, aldermen expressed concern about the lettuce farm’s water use drawing down nearby wells.

At the time, Bright Farms general manager Sean O’Neill emphasized that the lettuce farm will recapture and reuse the water while also making use of rainwater.

The lettuce grower ultimately plans to build four 8-acre greenhouse “modules” and employ about 200 people to grow the salad greens.

Bright Farms started in rural Pennsylvania with a business model of growing fresh, local lettuce and herbs to be shipped directly to retailers within 24 hours for a longer shelf life and smaller carbon footprint.