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Joliet officials describe emergency repairs to Des Plaines River water main; full replacement design accelerated
Summary
City staff outlined emergency repairs to a leaking 16-inch water main under the Des Plaines River, described emergency insertion-valve installations and purchase of spare parts, and said full replacement design is accelerated for 2026 construction.
City of Joliet public utilities staff on Thursday described emergency work last September to stop a leak on a 16-inch water main that crosses under the Des Plaines River and said officials have accelerated design for a permanent replacement project expected to start in 2026.
Allison, a city utilities official, told the pre-council meeting that crews discovered a leak in a tunnel beneath the river after customers reported reduced pressure in downtown Joliet east of the river. The city could not isolate the leak because one of the valves was "bridled," she said, so the contractor Ares Incorporated was called in for emergency repairs.
The emergency work included installing a line stop to halt flow without shutting off service to downtown businesses, dewatering the tunnel with pumps, repairing the main break and installing insertion valvesspecial valves that can be placed on live mains. Allison said the city also bought two insertion valves to keep on hand for future emergencies because the parts are specialized and not always quickly available.
Council papers on the agenda included a proposed payment for emergency repairs to the Des Plaines River crossing water main to Ares Incorporated in the amount of $573,670.69 (Council memo 30-25). Allison said the contractorwhich had previously worked on the same mainresponded quickly and that the work prevented a more serious outage.
Allison said the city is currently accelerating design for replacement of the critical water main crossings and anticipates construction work beginning in 2026.
Why it matters: Water mains that cross under the river are critical for downtown water service. The city said the repaired tunnel and the added insertion valves will improve response time for future emergencies but described the tunnel and crossing as part of a system planned for eventual full replacement.
Staff emphasized that some specialty items are not readily available in the market and that owning spare insertion valves will reduce future response time. The public service committee had previously reviewed the emergency work, and the item appeared under the consent/actionable items for formal council consideration the next day.
No formal vote on the emergency payment was recorded during the pre-council discussion.
