Brookfield is looking for additional funding from the state to finance its water line improvement projects over the next two years.
Trustees approved four contracts Nov. 10 with Hancock Engineering, which has long been the village’s firm for municipal projects. The contracts totaled more than $1.5 million for services related to Brookfield’s water main improvement project next year and its lead water service line replacement projects for 2026 and 2027.
Of the four contracts, costs related to three will only be incurred if Brookfield can secure bypass funding from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. That leaves the village to cover just $42,500 in design engineering services for its 2027 lead water replacements.
Those three contracts were for 2026 water main improvement construction engineering worth $523,200, 2026 lead water service replacement construction engineering worth $571,900, and 2027 lead water service replacement construction engineering worth $375,500.
“It is necessary for the village to pass these agreements tonight because the IEPA requires executed agreements for any engineering costs that are to be paid with loan funding to be included in the request for bypass funding,” said Village President Michael Garvey. “Hancock Engineering anticipates making requests for bypass funding by the end of the week. They will be requesting approximately $25 million of lead water service replacement and $12 million in water main improvements.”
According to a village memo, the IEPA has informed Brookfield and Hancock that more than $40 million in bypass funding will be available at the start of 2026.
The agency’s funding cycle is based around Illinois’ fiscal year, which runs July 1 to June 31. Municipalities must apply by March 31 to reserve loan funding for their projects for the first half of the upcoming fiscal year — that is, July 1 to Dec. 31 — during which time they can begin construction and have the funds released. But if an approved project is delayed until the start of the next calendar year on Jan. 1, the IEPA may bypass it and put the reserved funding toward other projects that are ready to move forward.
The IEPA did not approve Brookfield’s projects — water main improvements in 2026 and lead service line replacements in 2026 and 2027 — for the initial round of funding, but bypass funding could allow them to proceed anyway. While that funding is not guaranteed, the village obtained bypass funding for its water main improvements in 2024 and 2025, the memo said.
At the meeting, trustees also approved $237,700 in preliminary and design engineering from Hancock for improvements to Prairie Avenue. The project is set to receive grant funding through the Central Council of Mayors’ Surface Transportation Program in 2029, but through contingency funding — which works similarly to the IEPA’s bypass funding — the resurfacing and streetscape work could be funded in 2027 or 2028.
Trustees directed Hancock staff to begin engineering work on the Prairie Avenue project at their Oct. 27 committee of the whole meeting, which was formalized through the contract.
