The Village of Cambridge appears likely to put in a new monitoring well at its closed landfill. Doing so might save up to $2,000 this spring on lab costs for water samples with even more savings in years to come.
The landfill closed in 1992, but the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has required continued monitoring ever since at a cost of $8,000 a year. The most extensive samples are taken in the second quarter.
Last September, the village hired Veenstra & Kimm (V&K) Engineers of Moline in an effort to reduce or end monitoring.
Leo Foley of V&K told a village committee last week that certain monitoring would need to continue three times a year, but said he hopes extensive sampling in the second quarter could be cut back.
Foley recommended a new monitoring well, saying he believes it would save at least $5,000 per year after the first year of operation. Missman, Stanley and Associates had also recommended the same type of well.
The level of manganese, iron and nitrate detected at the landfill has at times exceeded the potable groundwater standards. Trustee Troy Coziahr noted that there had been no high levels of pesticides or petro-chemicals at the landfill. Foley’s presentation showed levels of the herbicides alachlor and atrazine, as well as chlorcarbon tetra-chlorethene (used in dry cleaning). He also said it’s common for levels to swing back and forth, and Prairie Analytical Lab is re-evaluating the levels.
Foley gave the committee a schedule showing that next fall he may have a timetable for ending monitoring sometime after that.
The engineer also discussed plans for having two entrances off the west side of Route 82 south of Route 81 to serve the new commercial park and fire station. V and K will do a traffic study which will be submitted to the Illinois Department of Transportation to determine whether two entrances will be allowed and whether a left-turn lane is needed.
VanMeenen said a turn lane would cost at least $100,000 and delay the project two to three months. The engineer’s study could be completed by mid-March.
In other business, Bill Johnston of the Henry County Fair Board discussed plans for a new water line on the fairgrounds.
The new line would enable firefighters to fight fire at the horse barns. Johnston said a new line through the race track would avoid working with existing buried utilities along he midway.
