Kendall Co. Plan Consortium Minutes 2010 05-27-10
United City of Yorkville
800 Game Farm Road
Yorkville, Illinois 60560
Telephone: 630-553-4500
Fax: 630-553-7575
KENDALL COUNTY PLANNING CONSORTIUM
MS
EETING UMMARY
Thursday, May 27, 2010
7:00 P.M.
Village of Plattville
UPA Hall
6617 Chicago Road
Anticipated Impacts to Wells within the Community
Speakers:
7:06 PM – 7:09 PM
Anne Lucietto welcomed all guests to the Village of Plattville’s UPA Hall, Kendall
County Planning Consortium. She spoke of the training sessions that the Consortium
provides that are ongoing in the communities and the efforts made to cover the requested
topics of its members. Tonight’s topic on wells was one of those requested. She noted
that Planning Consortium sessions are conducted every other month and always open to
the public.
Guests were introduced: Dan Horvath from Resource Consulting, Inc. and Todd
Drefcinski from the Kendall County Health Department.
7:09 PM – 8:16 PM
Dan Horvath – Hydrologist, Resource Consulting, Inc.
Mr. Horvath is a licensed professional hydrogeologist and President of Resource
Consulting, Inc. a full service private firm specializing in environmental consulting. He is
also the committee chair of the Northeastern Illinois Regional Groundwater Protection
Planning Committee.
Mr. Horvath began his PowerPoint presentation by defining what ground water is –
generally, it is where water exceeds atmospheric pressure. He explained how much water
is available and that 30% goes into groundwater. The recharge area was illustrated by a
section view of the Earth and a map of the aquifers of the Northeastern area of Illinois
was displayed.
Mr. Horvath discussed the sources of where all major water is located in Illinois and
stated that Elgin, Illinois drinks river water. A computer program model, described as the
“Ground Water Flow Model” was explained. An example of the modeling for an area in
Joliet, Illinois illustrated six (6) wells and the required IEPA setback zones (1,000 feet in
diameter) on a map. The modeling also showed the 5-year intake period for each well.
Mr. Horvath also explained that every well has a setback zone and no point pollutant can
be located within 200 feet of a well.
A Consumer Confidence Report on the water quality for Geneva was displayed; it was
stated that reports on water quality for every community is required by law, which are
easy to read and understand, and are available on-line. A list of other websites with
resources on wells was provided.
There was discussion of deep aquifers where heavy pumping of wells occurs and a
contour map of Illinois water table was shown. Deep aquifers are 100’s of feet deeper
than a shallow well and is under a tremendous amount of pressure. Because of deep
aquifers were used in Chicago during its massive redevelopment period, water no longer
flows to the east. However, as industry moved out of Illinois, there was a release of
pressure on the water being welled from these deep aquifers.
Mr. Horvath explained the goal of water supply planning and management, which is to
provide adequate water at a reasonable cost. He opined that raising rates at a certain
threshold of use is one way communities are responding to excessive or over-
consumption of water, but that there are other creative solutions. Water is also a resource
that is not treated as the commodity it is, so there is a vast difference in price from
community to community with no standard for cost.
In conclusion, Mr. Horvath noted that up until last year, Illinois did not have regulations
for high capacity wells. Public Act #96-022 allows for the regulation of wells that pump
in excess of 100,000 gallons per day. Until the passage of this bill in 2009, the 1800’s
water laws in Illinois prevailed.
Mr. Horvath concluded his presentation and answered questions from the audience.
8:16 PM – 8:23 PM
Break
8:23 PM – 9:10 PM
Mr. Todd Drefcinski – Sanitarian, Kendall County Health Department
Mr. Drefcinski is a Licensed Environmental Health Practitioner (L.E.H.P.) and is a
Sanitarian for the Kendall County Health Department. He is also a member of the
Northeastern Illinois Regional Groundwater Protection Planning Committee.
Mr. Drefcinski’s presentation focused primarily on permitting for the installation of
wells, testing, compliance requirements and sealing of a well. He explained the main
focus of his work is protecting the water supply. His presentation included a
diagram/schematic of a private well. The basic ways to protect the water supply with a
private well is:
Keep the well cap in good condition
Keep well cap tight so no contaminates are able to infiltrate the well water
supply
Replace the well cap if damaged
Ensure there are no gaps in electrical cap
Ensure that pressure take does not leak
Do not bury a well
It is suggested that owners of private wells test them annually with water samples sent to
a local laboratory. Samples kits are available at the Kendall County Health department.
Mr. Drefcinski stated that most tests are done to detect the presence of coli form in the
drinking water. However, he mentioned that nitrates (such as fertilizers, human waste,
etc.) very rarely have high counts in the samples tested.
Mr. Drefcinski also spoke about how the Kendall County employs GPS (Geographical
Positioning System) units and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to document the
location of wells within the county. This data is used to create maps form informational,
educational and other purposes.
In closing, Mr. Drefcinski spoke about how the Kendall County Health department
handled abandoned wells. There is a program in place in Kendall County that flags the
location of abandoned wells. After identifying an abandoned well, the county then has it
sealed. He mentioned that well as not sealed with concrete anymore, as concrete is
susceptible to cracking. They are now sealed using a gravel-like material which fills and
seals the well. However, if a well is older than 20 years old, they get rid of it. The State
Water Survey also keeps records of abandoned and operational wells.
Mr. Drefcinski answered questions from the audience at the end of his presentation.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:12 PM.
A copy of Mr. Horvath’s and Mr. Drefcinski’s PowerPoint presentations are available on
the United City of Yorkville’s website.