Cedar Rapids to build approximately $20 million well near Cargill facility

CEDAR RAPIDS — The city of Cedar Rapids is looking to build an approximately $20 million horizontal collector well near Cargill’s corn milling facility as part of the city’s permanent flood control system — one of the finishing touches of flood protection work on the east side.

Located near the Sinclair stormwater basin area on the north side of the Cedar River, city staff expect the well — when complete — to have a capacity of 3,400 gallons per minute in the winter, to 4,500 gallons per minute in the summer. This well will replace the cooling water supply for Cargill’s facility located at 1710 16th St. SE. It’s at the south end of the east side flood control system.

Utilities Engineering Manager David Wallace has said Cargill relies on several vertical wells to provide most of its cooling water supply. Five of these are shallow alluvial wells that rely on the river to be recharged, which will be impacted by the proposed flood control system in this area.

The city’s flood control system master plan calls for a permanent flood wall separating the Cargill corn processing plant from the east side of the Cedar River. The project will drive sheet pile into bedrock and reduce production of the wells, necessitating a new water source, Flood Control Program Manager Rob Davis said. Once finished, this new well will be on the river side of the flood wall instead of its current location on the dry side.

This project involves four different contracts, two of which belong to the city, Wallace said.

One, for caisson and laterals, will construct a 20-foot diameter caisson about 75 feet deep with six 12-inch laterals, each 200 feet in length. A caisson is a round concrete structure similar to a silo, but built below ground. Construction is set to begin in April 2024 and is anticipated to wrap up in January 2025.

The two bids the city received came in below the estimated cost of $5.11 million:

Another city project will build a wellhouse, including all structures, pumping equipment, electrical and HVAC equipment, generator equipment, instrumentation, internal and external piping and other related site work. Construction will begin around February 2025 — once the first project is complete — and is slated to be completed by March 2026.

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Three bids the city received came in below the estimated cost of $17.81 million, but one came in above that figure:

After staff review bids and make a recommendation to council, the council will award contracts at a later date. Because of state law, the city has to award contracts for public projects to the lowest responsible bidder. Both of these projects will be jointly funded by the city and Cargill, split 50-50. The city’s portion of the cost will be funded by a mix of flood mitigation funds and the city’s local share, which comes from property taxes.

Once complete, ownership of the well will be turned over to Cargill to pay for operation and maintenance.

Under the third contract, the Army Corps of Engineers, which is contributing to the east side portion of Cedar Rapids’ flood control system, will construct a portion of a pipeline — which takes the water from the well to the plant — from east of a railroad bridge into Cargill’s property. The fourth contract is Cargill’s, to build a pipeline on its property.

Wallace said staff studied other alternatives including different locations, a vertical well field to the south, or a cooling tower in lieu of the wells using the river as a direct water source. He said this project was determined to be the most feasible due to cost, capacity and other factors.

This project is among the final east side flood control projects. The Army Corps is expected to finish work on this side of the river by the end of 2026. Under the Army Corps’ cost-benefit formula, the west side was not eligible for funding. The cost of construction there exceeds the value of the buildings it would protect.

The Army Corps has contributed $306 million toward east side flood protection, going a long way toward completion of the $750 million infrastructure project. The city is studying whether inflation has bumped the price tag further but has not yet shared revised cost estimates or whether it may scale back certain amenity features of the plan.

Comments: (319) 398-8494; marissa.payne@thegazette.com