Gurnee residents can expect better water pressure soon
In the coming days, the new water tower on the west side of Gurnee will be switched on, boosting the village's water capacity and improving water pressure for thousands of residents.
The tower has been under construction since January 2019 on village-owned land at 1525 Knowles Road, near Rollins Road. Village officials estimate the project's cost at $7 million.
Jack Linehan, the assistant to the village administrator, said the new water tower will improve water pressure for about 4,000 households north of Washington Street and west of Hunt Club Road.
The new water tower will have 10 times the capacity of the old 200,000-gallon tower, which was located near Gurnee Fire Station 1 and demolished last year.
Village officials said there were a few weather delays during the construction, but nothing too significant. Linehan said the project wasn't greatly slowed by the global pandemic, either.
"The plan was for it to be done in the summer of 2020, and it's still looking like that's going to happen," Linehan said Monday.
The work that remains includes a final round of tests on the tower's water systems, Linehan said.
"Once it is filled, they will make sure the temperature is correct and the chlorine level is correct," Linehan said, referring to village contract workers.
The tower is the village's first to bear Gurnee's new logo, which is prominently displayed on the village website, gurnee.il.us. The village published a time-lapse video on its YouTube page that shows the progress of the water tower from a hole in the ground to a massive, fully painted concrete structure about 18 months later.
The village used a $5.5 million low-interest loan from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to help pay for the project. Village officials said the project has been part of the village's plans for almost 15 years.