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Draft water‑supply study outlines western connection and redundancy options for Glencoe, estimates $28M–$34M
Summary
A draft 2026 water‑supply analysis presented three scenarios (western transmission main, reservoir feed, and dual‑main redundancy). Staff said Scenario 1 costed about $28 million, Scenario 2 about $34 million (current dollars) and recommended further modeling, escalation analysis and coordinated regional interconnect work.
Public works staff presented a draft 2026 water‑supply analysis to the Committee of the Whole on June 18 that modeled three options to improve resilience and supply: a western transmission main to the distribution system, a transmission main to the Lakefront Park reservoir, and a redundant dual‑main alignment for resilience.
Staff said the first scenario would require a 20‑inch transmission main tapering to a 16‑inch connection and a 2,000,000‑gallon storage and pumping station; the consultant’s preliminary cost estimate for that alignment was roughly $28 million in current dollars. A direct transmission main to the reservoir (scenario 2) was estimated near $34 million, and a redundant dual‑main option to provide greater resilience would add roughly $8 million to the project cost for dual alignments, according to the presentation.
The report also reviewed the village’s 10‑year capital improvement program (CIP) and flagged a $3 million difference between planned CIP projects and the consultant’s higher cost estimates for certain items (including electrical upgrades and a generator). Staff cautioned that the figures shown were “dollars today” and that an escalation analysis (10–, 15–, 20‑year pricing) is needed to produce realistic construction‑time budgets.
Emergency interconnects with neighboring communities (Winnetka, Northbrook and others) were analyzed as a short‑term resilience tool; the report recommended valve updates, isolation maps and field testing to verify the village could receive emergency flows in an average‑demand scenario. Staff stressed interconnects are emergency, short‑term measures and are not full substitutes for planning for redundancy in the event of a catastrophic main failure.
What’s next: staff said they will perform extended‑period simulations, refine escalation scenarios for long‑lead projects (such as intake replacement), coordinate with neighboring communities on interconnect upgrades and return with more detailed cost and phasing recommendations before committing to a construction path.
