Joliet review of water project costs delayed

The timetable for the city’s deeper dive into the costs of the Lake Michigan project has been pushed back to mid-2023.

The financial reanalysis of the project previously was slated for completion at the end of 2022.

“The engineers are finalizing their cost estimates, and we’re going to be reviewing them internally,” Joliet Public Works Director Allison Swisher said last week.

Swisher said consultants are weighing complicated factors, including the sharing of costs through the Grand Prairie Water Commission.

The commission, which spreads costs of the project among its six member municipalities, did not exist when Joliet alone approved the project in January 2021 at an estimated cost ranging between $592 million and $810 million.

Even at that time, consultants pegged the final price of the project factoring in costs at the time of construction at being more like between $725 million and $993 million. Even so, the estimate of $592 million to $810 million has been the number generally used.

Swisher said one goal of the financial reanalysis is to come up with a cost estimate that will be realistic for 2030, the deadline for completion. That number will take into account both inflationary costs for construction and savings derived from the commission.

Inflation was not an economic issue at the time the city approved the project.

So far, however, inflation has not ratcheted up construction costs for projects like water main replacements that are being done to get the city ready for Lake Michigan water, Swisher said.

“They’re not as bad as we thought they’d be,” she said.

The water main replacement program in Joliet is one example of costs related to the project that go beyond the building of a pipeline from Lake Michigan to the city. Joliet is replacing old water mains as it tries to reduce the level of lost water in its system to 10%, the standard for Lake Michigan communities.

Leaky water mains are considered the major source of lost water in Joliet, and the city plans to spend up to $40 million in 2023 on water main replacement projects. Eighteen miles of water mains were replaced this year.

Each municipality in the commission will need to spend money to adapt its water systems form wells now being used to Lake Michigan water.

Other municipalities in the Grand Prairie Water Commission are: Romeoville, Crest Hill, Shorewood, Minooka and Channahon.