JoCo Board of Supervisors approves courthouse water main replacement proposal

After a series of leaks that took place in March, the Johnson County Courthouse needs a new water main.

Kaitlyn O’Neal, News Reporter

April 2, 2026

Guest speakers talk to the Board of Supervisors during the Johnson County formal meeting on Thursday, April 2, 2026. The Johnson County Board of Supervisors hold a weekly meeting every Thursday at 9am or occasionally 5:30pm. (Patrick Murphy/The Daily Iowan.

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal to replace the county courthouse’s water main on Thursday. This came after the courthouse experienced and repaired several leaks throughout the building in March.

The courthouse has the replacement priced at $110,000, including the cost of labor and materials, though the courthouse only has $99,000 left in its $300,000 emergency budget. Recently $20,000 from this budget was spent on a flagpole outside of the courthouse.

On March 19, the courthouse discovered the water main was leaking on the first floor. It was subsequently repaired on March 21. During this time, another leak was found in the basement of the courthouse, which they were hoping was a symptom of the leak on the first floor. The leak persisted even after the other was repaired.

The main continued leaking after a brief water service shutoff at the courthouse on March 23. The leak resumed as soon as water service turned back on.

The courthouse planned to replace the water main in the parking and circulation renovation phase of the Johnson County Maintenance and Capital Improvement Plan to increase the main’s service volume. Because of the leak, the courthouse needs a water main replacement sooner, instead of in the distant future. According to the plan, the water main would have been replaced in fiscal year 2027, beginning July 1, 2026, and ending Jun. 30, 2027.

Dave Curtis, the Johnson County facilities manager, said this replacement will ideally take two to three weeks and that it will not interrupt courthouse activities, since the water will be shut off on a weekend.

Repairing the existing water main would involve removing the concrete patio area north of the courthouse, along with some of the parking area, which would have to be rebuilt afterward.

After meetings with a contractor, architects, and engineers, it was determined that installing a new water main would be more cost-effective than repairing the existing one.