Yorkville is seeking emergency replacement of a water main in the Wildwood subdivision after two pipe breaks eight days apart resulted in 1.5 million gallons of water rushing out and causing damage to an adjacent yard.

The troublesome area is a 105-foot stretch of pipe that has holes so large that the city had to borrow tools from Montgomery to fit the size.

The city is being asked to approve a $92,920 contract with Winninger Excavating to provide the emergency repairs on the 36-year-old water main stretching along Crooked Creek Drive. The work is slated to be completed by the end of the year.

“The last two main breaks occurred within days of each other and were caused by pipe that has deteriorated to the point that there are literally holes in it,” Eric Dhuse, director of public works said in city documents.

Dhuse said there have been three water main breaks on the water main segment in the past decade.

As part of the more than $100 million Lake Michigan water sourcing project, the city is mandated to reduce water loss from things like leaking pipes and water main breaks. The project is currently running around $100 million over initial estimates.

After the main water main segment in the cul de sac of Crooked Creek Drive is replaced, Dhuse recommends constructing a secondary pipeline feed over the next one to two years.

This could abridge to the larger project of connecting pipes from the Wildwood subdivision to the future Illinois Route 126 water main. Several easements would need to be acquired for this project that would take two to three years to plan, design and construct.

Winninger Excavating is currently working with the city on replacing a large water main on the south side of town. They are also beginning construction next week on the East Ally water main replacement project in the city’s downtown Hydraulic District.