McHenry considering water service extension

McHENRY – The City Council took the first step Monday night toward extending the city’s public water supply to an area along Route 120 with groundwater contamination.

The council approved $57,095 in engineering fees to SEC Group Inc. for an east side water main extension project.

The contaminated property at 3004 W. Elm St. (Route 120), now home to Enterprise Rent-a-Car, was the home of Gem Cleaners from 1970-77.

It was not unusual at that time for cleaners to release chemicals into the water supply, McHenry City Administrator Doug Maxeiner said. Solvents used in dry cleaning contaminated the soil and groundwater with volatile organic compounds, according to an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency report.

The contamination extends beyond the property to the west toward the Fox River. Most homes and businesses along the Route 120 stretch use private wells, Maxeiner said.

“At that time, it was not illegal to dispose of chemicals used in that process,” he told the council.

The IEPA still is investigating the contamination, looking for additional sources, he said.

The current property owner, Inverse Investments Inc., is enrolled in a cleanup program with the IEPA, Maxeiner said, adding that all affected property owners had been notified.

The city staff members are investigating funding to pay for the extension project, with federal stimulus money available for cleanup projects, Maxeiner said. The engineering fees would be paid through the city’s sewer and water fund with hopes of being reimbursed, he said.

The city will not bid out the entire project until funding is in place, Maxeiner said, but getting started with the engineering work is necessary.

“We have a responsibility for public health purposes to move this project along,” he said.

Since the contaminated property is in the county but affected wells in McHenry, board member Andrew Glab said the county should help pay for it.

“A good percentage of the property owners [in that area], I’m sure, are in the county,’’ Glab said.

Maxeiner said he contacted county officials about contributing and said he would be in touch with them again when he knows the cost of the total project, estimated at between $600,000 and $1.1 million.