CWLP - City of Springfield Supplemental Water Supply Project

Historical Overview

• 1932-1935: Lake Springfield constructed
• 1953-1955: Drought increases awareness and concerns over adequacy of water supply.
• 1965: After review of supplementary water supply alternatives, Lake Springfield II was recommended.
• 1973: City Council votes to proceed with plans to build second lake.
• 1965-1977: Preliminary lake design and land acquisition occurs. Project interest declines and progress is halted.
• October 1988: City has a hearing before the Illinois Pollution Control Board (IPCB) for a variance to use the Sangamon River as an Emergency Water Supply Plan (EWSP). Conditional permits received in 1989 (renewed in 1995, 2000, and 2007) for EWSP from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Illinois Department of Transportation (DOT), and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). IPCB order tells City to move forward with permanent long-term water supply planning.

Project Summary

• December 1988: Ordinance authorizes Office of Public Utilities to move forward with Lake Springfield II.
• July 1989: A permit application for the construction of Hunter Lake was submitted to the Corps.
• July 1989: Bonds issued for project development start-up.
• September 1989 - October 1993: Studies performed on Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) work for Hunter Lake.
• October 1993: The first Draft of EIS was submitted to the Corps.
• August 1994: Corps responds to Draft EIS with comments, including requesting additional study requirements, such as further evaluation of supplemental water supply alternatives. Other issues included analyzing operating plans, groundwater impacts, water quality projections, wetlands, municipal sewage impacts, and flood assessments.
• 1995-1998: Additional environmental studies conducted to satisfactorily address alternatives analyses and other issues.
• May 1998: Revised Draft EIS submitted to Corps.
• April 1999: Corps publishes the Draft EIS.
• May 1999 – September 2000: Public comments considered by Corps and City; revisions incorporated into Final EIS.
• November 2000: Corps publishes Final EIS.
• February 2001: Public Hearing on Final EIS held by Corps.
• March - May 2001: Additional wetlands information developed and responses to Public Hearing comments formulated. Corps begins formulating Record of Decision (ROD). Corps needs IEPA’s Section 401 permit prior to formulating final permit conditions.
• September 2001: IEPA identifies required conditions to be included in agreements with three communities upstream of Hunter Lake prior to issuance of Section 401 permit regarding sewage treatment mitigation.
• November 2001 – August 2002:. Conduct additional sewage treatment studies with Virden Sanitary District, Divernon, and Pawnee; and further studies regarding flooding issues in Pawnee.
• August 2002 – present: Negotiations conducted, feasibility studies performed and draft agreements prepared with Divernon, Pawnee, and the Virden Sanitary District to achieve IEPA goals regarding sewage treatment and to address Pawnee concerns regarding flooding. Agreement executed with Divernon in August 2003 for re-location of effluent option, but after public hearing, similar option not feasible for Virden Sanitary District. Connection of all three communities to Springfield Metro Sanitary District explored as feasible option for all three communities.
• May 2006 – August 2007: Responses to requests for information provided to Corps and IEPA. Corps used information to prepare an update to its November 2000 FEIS, and IEPA to publish its anti-degradation assessment. Updates reviews of alternative water supply options. Corps and IEPA Public Notices published in May 2007. Responses to comments provided to Corps and IEPA in August 2007.
• May 29, 2007: IEPA publishes its Fact Sheet on Anti-degradation Assessment for Hunter Lake.
• May 2008: Updated Permit Application provided to Corps and permit fee provided to IEPA.
• December 3, 2008: Joint Public Notice issued by Corps, IEPA, Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)/Office of Water Resources. Public hearing held pursuant to IEPA’s Anti-degradation Assessment / Section 401 permitting.
• January 7, 2009: City Council votes to purchase Clear Lake gravel pit.
• January – June 2009: Corps and IEPA review public comments from December 3, 2008 public hearing. CWLP provides responses to questions forwarded by Corps and IEPA.
• December 2010: Corps puts Hunter Lake permit on inactive status and mandates CWLP to investigate gravel pits alternative.
• Early 2012: CWLP contracts for a pump test of the gravel pits to determine:
  • Water Yield of gravel pits
  • Potential impacts of withdrawals on aquifer water levels
  • Compare water yield estimate to previous estimates
• The pump test report identified severe limitations on the use and water yield from the gravel pits without affecting neighboring communities’ wells.
• 2013: - CWLP collected additional data related to gravel pits analysis including:
  • Volume of gravel pits - perform bathymetric surveys
  • Neighboring Community Well data - capacity, depth, screen and pump elevations
  • Revised water supply demand analysis
• August 2013: Revised pump test report determined that gravel pits not a viable option in terms of capability to provide water supply volume and potential negative impacts on neighboring community wells.
• February 2014: CWLP contracts for updated water demand analysis for next 50 years.
• March 2014: CWLP contracts to update cost estimate of supplemental water supply alternatives.
• July 2015: City Council authorizes CWLP to pursue construction of Hunter Lake.
• August 22, 2015: Memorandum of Understanding signed by City of Springfield and IDNR. MOU states IDNR will manage the Hunter Lake project area for public access for outdoor recreation, education and habitat conservation.
• August 15, 2016: Notice of Intent (NOI) for preparation of a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Springfield Supplemental Water Supply Project published in Federal Register.