Glenbrook Excavating was the choice to receive a $1.7 million contract to build a controversial sewer system that will reach 112 homes in the Glen Ellyn Woods subdivision.
The Prairie View firm beat out seven other bidders for the contract approved by the DuPage County Board’s Public Works Committee. It must be approved by the full board.
Residents are divided over the project, which is expected to cost the average homeowner $1,300 in new taxes.
Supporters of the project say failing septic tanks pose a serious health risk; opponents say the tanks are failing because some of their neighbors don’t know how to maintain them.
Construction is expected to begin in April and could be completed by fall, committee Chairman Roger Jenisch said.
In the meantime, the DuPage County Public Health Department, which discovered unacceptably high levels of fecal bacteria in the neighborhood groundwater, issued warning letters to 11 homeowners with failing septic systems, said Leland Lewis, the department’s executive director.
The Health Department will instruct the homeowners about short-term repairs they should make to their systems, but won’t require their replacement because the new sewer system is expected soon, Lewis said.
Residents would not be forced to hook up to the system, but all 112 homeowners who live in the special service area would have to pay the taxes.
A homeowner who hooks up to the system would also pay for installation, estimated at $4,000.
