Prairie du Chien's increasingly busy construction season will also include the new municipal well after the common council approved two contractors for different parts of the project during their meeting on Feb. 17.
"We previously completed a lot of preliminary site analysis and a test well that ultimately resulted in the design of the production well and pumphouse," said Matt Muchow, a civil engineer with Vierbicher. "With the nature of the production well and the pumphouse being done by separate contractors, we bid them separately.”
Bids for the project opened on Jan. 28, and the city received them on Feb. 10.
The city received three bids for the production well, ranging from $253,102 to $553,279. Rock Church Construction, out of Livingston, was the low bidder and received the contract. The company started in 1994 and has worked on projects in the Prairie du Chien area before, including renovations on the Villa Louis.
Two other companies put in bids: Sam's Well Drilling (who drilled the test well in November of this past year) and CTW Corporation, Wells and Pumps.
Five bids came in for the pumphouse and Well 2 demolition. Owen's Excavating and Trenching, which started in 2002 and is now based in Hazel Green, submitted the low bid of $1,118,047.
"Owen's Excavating has done several projects within the city," said Muchow. "I know they most recently did utility work on Blackhawk Junction, Forest Street on the island and the boat landing as well."
Olympic Builders General Contractors, Protzen Construction, Tricon General Construction and Rock Church also bid on that part of the project. The highest bid was by Rock Church for approximately $1.9 million.
Memos sent from Vierbicher to the City say the production well bid was more than $4,000 lower than expected, and the pumphouse/Well 2 demolition bid was approximately $250,000 lower than the firm's expectations.
"Both of these contracts came in under the estimated amount, which is great," said Muchow.
The total cost of the project was initially estimated to be around $2 million.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources approved a site for Well 5 in October 2024. It will be located west of 22nd Street and south of Campion Boulevard near the Alliant substation. The well will connect to the city's water system through the water main on 22nd Street.
Work also includes the abandonment of Well 2, which will be deconstructed and sealed so nothing else can get into the water and contaminate it further, according to Gates.
"Well 2 is located by the Water Department office, and that was contaminated with high levels of PFAS, and through further testing, the limits stayed high," said Utilities Director Larry Gates.
In April 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued new standards for drinking water, which included setting the maximum contaminant levels for PFAS chemicals. Well 2 tested above those limits on April 17, 2024, and Well 1 tested above those limits in July 2024. The city has tested for PFAS since 2022.
Further testing on Well 1 in November 2024 showed the contaminant levels dropped below the EPA maximum allowable limits. Well 1 has since been put back into operation. Well 2 has remained offline for nearly two years.
Gates said another well is necessary for the city to meet its water usage demands.
Without Wells 1 and 2 in operation, the city's well capacity was approximately 1,000 gallons below the municipality's peak usage. The city just barely meets its peak usage need with Wells 1, 3 and 4. Adding Well 5, which will be larger than Well 2, will ensure the city can handle residents' needs.
The project is funded by a low-interest loan received through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Safe Drinking Water Loan Program.
According to Muchow, half of the project's cost is covered by principal forgiveness, while the other half is a loan the City will have to repay.
The construction timeline for the project is estimated to last until late 2026 or early 2027.
Muchow said the contractor would start on the production well in early summer, and the pumphouse portion of the project would begin once the well was completed.
In attendance were alderpersons Andy Ringgold, Kayla Ingham, Mark Bowar, Bob Granzow, Vicki Waller, Nick Crary and Nate Bremmer. Jaaren Riebe was absent. Mayor David Hemmer, City Administrator Chad Abram, City Planner Nate Gilberts, Street Superintendent Nick Gilberts and Gates were also present.
