Prairie du Chien Common Council moves forward with test well project
By Steve Van Kooten
The Prairie du Chien Common Council quickly cut through their April 8 meeting despite several project updates from City Administrator Chad Abram and approving real estate acquisitions for the roundabouts project on U.S. Highway 18.
“The WisconsinDOT hired a firm to do appraisals for property that will be required as part of the roundabout project,” said Abram.
The city will purchase the properties and receive reimbursement from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. As of April 15, the city does not know when they will be reimbursed for the purchases, according to the city administrator.
The council received five offering price reports signed by a statewide appraiser. One property with a “just compensation” of $500 was listed as owned by the city.
The other four reports listed Sheckler Land Management, LLC, Sheckler Development, LLC, Great River Marketplace, LLC, and Vickie E. Blount as separate owners for each property. The “just compensation” for these properties was listed at $4,000, $17,900, $14,000 and $500, respectively.
Roundabout construction will include a length of U.S. 18 from Blackhawk Road through Wisconsin and Iowa Streets to a point several hundred feet south of the Iowa Street intersection.
In January 2024, representatives from the DOT, JT Engineering and DAAR Corporation hosted a public information session for the scheduled roundabout construction.
At that meeting, the DOT claimed to have vetted multiple options, which included the installation of traffic lights, before single-lane roundabouts at each intersection were selected as the best solution.
From 2014 to 2018, a DOT study recorded 39 crashes between the two intersections, with 15 injuries. A subsequent study conducted between 2018 and 2022 recorded 51 crashes between the intersections, with 16 injuries.
Test well
Abram said that the requests for proposals for the new test well were prepped the week before the meeting, and the results will be presented to the council at their first meeting in May.
The common council previously approved a professional services agreement (PSA) for a fifth well for the city at their March 4 meeting.
The cost for Well 5 is estimated to be approximately $2.19 million, including construction of the test well, production well, pumphouse and other needed equipment, according to a memo from Vierbicher to the city of Prairie du Chien.The cost for the test well is $213,500.
In April 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency issued new standards for drinking water, which included setting the maximum contaminant levels of PFAS chemicals to four parts per trillion. Well 2 tested above the newly established limits in April 2024, and Well 1 tested above the new standards this past July.
Further testing completed on Well 1 in November showed the contaminant levels dropped below the EPA maximum allowable limits, and it has since been put back in operation, according to Larry Gates, the city of Prairie du Chien utilities director.
Gates said that the city can “just barely” meet its peak demand with Wells 1, 3 and 4, but the future of Well 1 is uncertain because of the previous high PFAS levels.
This past October, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources approved a site for the well on a land parcel owned by the city, according to the PSA.
The area designated for Well 5 is west of 22nd Street and south of Campion Boulevard near the Alliant substation on the east side of the city.
The tentative schedule outlined in the PSA says the design phase will conclude in late June, regulatory approval will go through early December, bidding will take place around the turn of the year, construction will begin around May of next year and construction is expected to be completed at the end of 2026.
Other business
• The mayor appointed Sarah Hohlfeld to the city’s Plan Commission. The council approved the appointment during the meeting.
• On April 18, the city will conduct an electronics recycling event in conjunction with the Crawford County Land Conservation office from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bluff View Intermediate School. The service is open to all county residents with proof of residency.
• The city’s 20-year comprehensive plan is expected to be presented to the council at their second meeting in May. A draft of the comprehensive plan is available for public viewing on the city’s website.
• The council unanimously approved a bid from Steve Wright to lease 17.6 acres at $240.05 per acre to farm corn. The council previously approved bidding out the land at their March 18 meeting.
