Oswego panel recommends special-use permit for Ogden Falls water receiving station

The Oswego Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday recommended approval of a special‑use permit for a water receiving and pumping station at 378 Ogden Falls Boulevard that will allow the village to accept Lake Michigan water, subject to final engineering approval.

The project will add a new water storage tank, a receiving/pumping station and a meter station to the existing site while keeping the current Ogden Falls water tower in operation. Jeff Lind, planning staff, and Brad Reiss, assistant director, utilities for public works, said the site would operate as a high‑zone receiving point to boost lower‑pressure water supplied by the DuPage Water Commission into the village distribution system.

Reiss told the commission the site design calls for a roughly 1,000,000‑gallon ground storage tank that will be about 30 feet above ground and a pumping station sized about 70 by 50 feet. He said the DuPage Water Commission supply will arrive via a 54‑inch transmission main in the ComEd corridor, pass a meter station the commission will not operate, then flow to the village pumping and storage components. “The new facility is gonna be on liquid bleach instead of, chlorinated gas. So it's gonna be safer for, everybody, the environment and the workers and the residents,” Reiss said.

Residents who spoke to staff before the hearing raised concerns about operational noise, construction timing and insurance. Reiss said all pumps will be internal and that external noise should be limited to emergency generator operation; the new generator would be indoors with louvered doors for cooling. On construction hours he said the village noise ordinance will govern start times and acknowledged contractors typically start earlier than some neighbors would prefer. Reiss estimated construction would take “about a year.” He also said the village has requested acquisition of an approximately 1‑acre parcel from the Kickers Club to site the receiving station and tank and that the existing well house will be demolished after the receiving station is operational.

Commission members pressed technical details. Reiss said the village still needs an elevated storage capacity to meet standards and quoted a storage target for the system, saying, “we need that 1,500,000 gallons in the air still for our standards.” He explained there will be multiple pressure zones in town and that two additional receiving stations will be added later without storage tanks because of higher incoming pressure at those locations.

The commission held a public hearing with no members of the public appearing to speak at the meeting. After discussion, the body moved to “accept the findings of fact and recommend approval of the special use for utility use for a water receiving station at 378 Ogden Falls Boulevard, subject to final engineering approval.” The motion passed on a roll call vote with all members recorded as yes.

Commissioners and staff said the village will require final engineering sign‑off before construction proceeds and will continue to work with nearby residents on construction timing, fencing and site appearance; Reiss said he placed fencing improvements in a capital improvement request to replace dilapidated chain link at village utility sites. Construction timing discussed later in the meeting estimated work would begin in early 2026, with most work in calendar year 2026 and possible carryover into early 2027 and some demolition of the existing well house in the latter half of 2027.

The commission’s recommendation now goes to the village board for final action and for any remaining engineering review and permitting.