ROCHELLE — Several local residents heard about the city’s water system from its origins in the aquifers to the distribution and testing practices during a presentation hosted by the League of Women Voters.

The presentation, “What’s in Your Water?” was given by Matt Hansen with Willett Hoffman and Associates and Adam Lanning, superintendent of water/water reclamation.

According to an Illinois state water survey report, Rochelle’s water supply was originally pumped out of a quarry south of town into the system. Rochelle Municipal Utilities drilled its first well in 1897; now an average of 2.8 million gallons of water is pumped through over 100 miles of water mains every day from five wells. 

Well 4 is located near Second Avenue and Seventh Street at a depth of 1,450 feet; Well 8 is located on Wiscold Drive at a depth of 935 feet; Well 10 is located on Southview Drive at a depth of 920 feet; Well 11 is near Rochelle Township High School at a depth of 893 feet; and Well 12 is the city’s newest well located at Hayes and Steward Roads at a depth of 970 feet.

Water treatment at these wells involves chlorination to disinfect the water, fluoridation to reduce tooth decay, phosphates for corrosion control and filtration for the removal of iron, manganese, arsenic and radium.

Hansen further explained the city’s water towers, especially how the size and height are determined. The city has four water towers; three have 500,000 gallon capacities and the newest tower at Well 12 has the capacity for 750,000 gallons.

“Typically, what we see in most communities is the well capacity is not designed to meet peak hourly needs. It is designed for peak daily needs. What the water tower does is provide storage for peak hourly times of the day. When well are running and you hit a spike, the tower’s water supply will run down, but they will eventually recover,” he said. “The size and height depends on water demands, fire protection needs and demands and the topography of the area.”

During the presentation, Hansen provided several pictures including the new well house on Southview Drive, the radium removal plant, and a recent water main project completed near the hospital.

“I thought that the Water System general presentation was well organized and easy to understand,” said Diane McNeilly, LOWV member. “Taking the time to make sure that the audience understood the whole water system made it easy to understand our current needs and future planning for the community. Having both a visual and auditory presentation made sure that no matter which way our audience learns best as individuals, they had the opportunity at this presentation.”

“Rochelle has a long history of pumping safe water for the entire community … the construction of new wells, towers and pipes at RTHS and at Hayes Road will ensure high capacity for residential and commercial-industrial expansion,” said LOWV treasurer Claude McKibben, offering his thoughts on the presentation. “Illinois EPA regulated radium limit of five picocuries per liter has been difficult for Rochelle and many Illinois utilities. Matt Hansen complimented RMU as a leader in compliance, and Adam Lanning is participating in the Illinois State University radium research project to determine the causes.”

A question and answer segment followed the presentation. The audience posed several questions, including the presence of radium in the water supply at Well 11 and now at Well 12.

Hansen explained Well 11 was in operation for about 10 years before the radium levels started to rise. The city tested the water quality when drilling for the well began.

“Radium is a naturally occurring element, a by-product of decay of igneous rocks,” Lanning explained. “What we found was the more we pump at higher rates, the higher the levels of radium increase … we decided to hire Illinois State University’s hydrogeology department to investigate and find out where the radium is coming from and why there is an increase when we pump more.”

Lanning said the university is about a year into the study.

“As we easily draw water from the tap or watch the fire department put down a blaze, we should all be mindful of the complex equipment, treatment, control systems, and dedicated employees who bring us safe and reliable water every day,” McKibben added.

Future events

The LOWV’s next event, “2019 Budget Review,” by city manager Jeff Fiegenschuh, is planned for Thursday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. at Rochelle City Hall.

On Sunday, March 17, the League will host a Candidates Forum. Three mayoral candidates and seven council candidates will explain their positions and answer questions from a moderator and from the audience. The mayoral session is at 1 p.m.; council session is at 2:30 p.m.

The State of the Community Dinner is scheduled for Thursday, March 21 at 6:30 p.m. at Hickory Grove. Americold, BrightFarms and city of Rochelle will describe their operations, goals and achievements. Contact the chamber office at 815-562-4189 or in person at 1221 Currency Court for more information or to attend. Public is welcome.