Problem: Transfer the entire sewage flow from the Village of Lake Zurich, over 12 miles, to the Lake County Department of Public Works Des Plaines River Wastewater Treatment Plant. Execute construction with as little environmental impact as possible, while coordinating project needs with numerous affected parties.

Solution: The project consisted of two major wastewater pumping stations, over 6.9 miles of 30" to 42" diameter trunk sewer, and 4.9 miles of 24" and 36" diameter forcemain. The pump stations are poured-in-place concrete stations, constructed at depths of 24 and 33 feet. The Northwest Pump Station has a firm pumping capacity of 8 MGD. The Quentin Road Pump Station has a firm pumping capacity of 18 MGD. The Quentin Road forcemain was also designed to operate as a siphon under normal operating flows.

The forcemains and trunk sewers pass through four different communities and required permitting from 15 different entities. The project was completed well within budget for a total construction cost of $16,140,000. This regionalization project has enhanced the public health, safety, and welfare, as well as the local environment for the residents of Lake Zurich and downstream communities. In addition, economies of scale have been realized by phasing out two existing wastewater treatment plants. The project has allowed continued growth within the Village by eliminating treatment plant constraints.

Siphon/Pumping Profile: Cuba Road is a hilly, tree lined country road extending through the Villages of Kildeer and Long Grove. While it would have been technically possible to construct a gravity sewer from the Quentin Road Pump Station site to the Des Plaines River Treatment Plant, the depth of the sewer in some of the hilly areas on Cuba Road would have caused unacceptable destruction to the local environment during construction. Mining for trunk sewer installation was considered, however, the associated construction costs were prohibitive. To alleviate these environmental concerns, the Village opted to construct a forcemain and pump station. However, to take advantage of the downward sloping topography, the forcemain was designed to operate as a siphon under normal operating flows. Pumping is only required under peak wet weather flow conditions. As a result, the Village was able to take advantage of the low cost shallow installation of the forcemain (as opposed to a deep trunk sewer) while maintaining the energy-free operation by the siphon under all but peak flow conditions.

 

1: Engineering schematic
2: Winter construction of gravity sewer within residential backlot easement
3: Quentin Road Pump Station. Hydraulically operated flow control values which open & close in response to level in Quentin Road Pump Station wet well.
4: Vacuum priming structure on Cuba Road right-of-way removes entrapped air under vacuum conditions
5: Forcemain route along Cuba Road after restoration
6: Sewer route through Twin Orchards Country Club after restoration