Spur 2 Water Main

Greeley and Hansen worked with the Village of Orland Park (Village) to transition from groundwater to Lake Michigan water as their primary source of potable water in the mid-1980s. The Village of Orland Park purchases potable water from the Village which is conveyed to Orland Park by a single 36-inch transmission main. The Village identified the critical nature of this transmission main and the need for redundancy. The purpose of this project was to provide the Village with a second transmission main in order to provide a redundant conduit for supply of potable water in the event that the existing transmission main fails. Greeley and Hansen was responsible for the design and bid of approximately 2.7 miles of 30-inch transmission main, including the design of cathodic protection throughout the transmission main.  

Potential corridors for the route of the new Spur Two Main were identified based on input from the Village. To limit risk involved with sharing the corridor, the Village requested that an alternate path to the Spur One Main be evaluated for the Spur Two Main. Potential corridors for routing the Spur Two Main were identified and evaluated. Steady state hydraulics were developed to conduct pipe sizing for the transmission main. 

A new North Intake Structure will be provided at the Main Pump Station and Reservoir. This facility will meter and control the new feed from Oak Lawn and is designed to fit on a tight site while providing room for the Village to maintain the equipment. Approximately half of the selected route runs underneath ComEd high voltage transmission lines and crosses a high pressure petroleum products pipeline. The pipe material and corrosion protection evaluation identified potential corrosion problems arising from corrosive soil conditions and stray currents based on soil borings and soil samples obtained from the geotechnical soil analysis.  

Project Highlights: 

• Redundancy of water main for consistent transmission of water 
• Routing study to evaluate alternatives 
• Hydraulics were developed to conduct pipe sizing 
• Maintenance of traffic plans in residential neighborhoods to minimize disruption