A public hearing was held Monday to review plans for a new elevated water storage tank intended to improve water pressure and system reliability in North Chicago.

Steve Syslica, of Trotter and Associates and the city engineer for North Chicago, said the city plans to build "a 750,000 gallon, elevated store[d] water storage tank" at Foss Park, next to the golf course. "By constructing a new elevated water storage tank, we will be able to stabilize the city water system pressure and actually improve it," Syslica said.

Syslica told the council the city's existing storage is a 4,000,000‑gallon standpipe known as the Green Bay tank, but that only "about 5 to 10 feet of the water storage" in that structure is usable for pressure. Because the Green Bay tank is currently the main source of system pressure, he said, the city cannot take it out of service without consequences. "The last time the water tank was taken out of service, the city experienced a very high rate of water main breaks," he said, describing how temporary booster pumping increased break incidence when that tank was offline.

The presentation described the project funding and approvals. Syslica said the project is funded with an "IPA loan interest loan" and that the team "have been through all the environmental environmental sign offs." He said the city is arranging a property swap with the Foss Park District: the site by the golf course would take about 1.2 acres from the park in exchange for roughly 11 acres adjacent to it.

Syslica laid out the schedule and procurement steps: the city anticipates going out to bid within the next 45 days, with construction to begin in spring. "It'll take approximately, either 1 year to 18 months roughly in that time frame," he said.

No members of the public asked questions during the hearing and the facilitator closed the hearing at 5:36 p.m.

The project is intended to provide a second source of elevated pressure and to reduce the need for emergency booster pumping when the standpipe is taken offline for maintenance. City staff did not present a construction contract at the hearing; they described only the planned procurement timeline and current approvals.