Jason Nevel
The State Journal-Register
Aug 24, 2013
Springfield Mayor Mike Houston says the city will submit results of a recent study on gravel pits in the Sangamon River Valley to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers for review.
Meanwhile, the conclusion reached in the study that the gravel pits near Riverton are not a viable option as a secondary water source is facing scrutiny.
Aldermen were told during a presentation Tuesday by the Bloomington, Ind.-based engineering firm Layne Hydro that not nearly as much water would be generated from gravel pits as originally thought. The study also found that only 1.6 million gallons of water could be pumped per day without affecting other towns that get their water from the aquifer.
The mayor was adamant that city leaders — not the Illinois EPA or the Corps of Engineers — are at fault for Hunter Lake never materializing over the past five decades.
***(In the interest of space, this story has been edited from the original.)
What about the river?
Since it was released Tuesday, the study has come under fire from critics who say it didn’t take into account the role the nearby Sangamon River could play in replenishing the aquifer beneath the porous gravel pits.
Clark Bullard, a University of Illinois mechanical engineering professor, said the scope of the study wasn’t wide enough. “If you forget about the river and are not told to think about pumping, then (Layne Hydro) came up with an answer to the question they were asked,” Bullard said. “If they asked, ‘How can we use that water source in the cheapest way to meet the demand?’ they would have gotten a different kind of analysis and report.”
On average, Bullard said, 70 million gallons of water flow down the Sangamon River each day, at least some of which could be redirected to replenish the aquifer.
Don Hanrahan, a spokesman Citizens for Sensible Water Use, said there is a direct connection between the Sangamon River and the nearby aquifer. Hanrahan provided an email from City Water, Light and Power water division manager Ted Meckes to Ward 5 Ald. Sam Cahnman that acknowledged Layne Hydro “understands these connections very well.”
“Why would you avoid studying it?” Hanrahan said. “The only answer is they know the answer and didn’t like it, so they deliberately avoided it.”
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Cahnman also said he had issues with the study because it was too narrow to write off the gravel pits as an alternative water source. He said he wished the connection to the Sangamon River was studied and the engineering firm was allowed to be more creative, such as looking at digging neighbor’s wells deeper.
“Aldermen should have gotten this report at least a week or more prior to the presentation, so we could read and digest it and formulate good questions,” Cahnman said.
What to do with the gravel pit?
Despite the study pointing to the gravel pits not being a viable option for a secondary water source, Houston said a city-owned pit still holds value. The city in 2009 purchased one of several gravel pits near the Sangamon River for $875,000.
However, he said federal guidelines say 30 million gallons of water per day would have to pass through in order not to affect users downstream.
Even if the city wanted to recoup costs by selling the pit, Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin said, that would be an unlikely option because few people would be interested. He said, in retrospect, buying the pit was an unwise purchase that should have been studied more.
But McMenamin, a supporter of building Hunter Lake, said the issue could work itself out. “The good news is the new study strengthens the city’s hand in the permitting process with the Corps of Engineers for a second lake,” he said. “We have to err on the side of too much water.”
Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 