BETHALTO, IL – The Village of Bethalto is making application to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) State Revolving Fund (SRF) Public Water Supply Loan Program (PWSLP) for a low interest loan to fund a project including rehabilitation and new construction to improve the existing water system and water treatment plant.
“The current water plant was constructed in 1959,” said Charles Juneau, President of Juneau Associates, Inc. “The steel tanks and structure are in need of being replaced at this point in order to continue to provide Bethalto’s water customers high quality water and to meet the increased flow demand for the population in the communities for the next 20 years.”
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The Bethalto Water Treatment Plant consists of two plants, the original built in 1959, and a second plant built in 1978, that supply water to several communities in the area, including Bethalto and Cottage Hills area, Rosewood Heights area, Meadowbrook Public Water District, and Moro Public Water District. The population of Village of Bethalto has increased from 3,235 in 1960 to about 9,600 in 2010. The plants also serve approximately 3,000 residents from the other districts and the projected population the Bethalto Water Plant will serve by 2030 is almost 24,000 people.
“The 1959 plant was constructed to include aeration, filtration, and softening to treat well water,” said Bethalto Mayor Steve Bryant. “In 1978 the plant was expanded with Plant 2 to have total daily capacity of three millions per day. The equipment in the Plant 1 is more than 50 years old, and has steel tank deterioration and outdated controls. The plant in its current condition will not be able to provide desired water quality and water flow for the communities for many more years.”
Juneau said the project calls for abandonment of the existing 53-year-old plant and construction of two new aerators, three new softeners, a 250,000-gallon reaction basin to replace the current 40,000-gallon unit, four 10-inch diameter filters, a new half-million-gallon clearwell to replace the current 300,000-gallon component, and a high service pump station. Rehabilitation of existing power and control system and construction of emergency generators are also included. With some slight rehabilitation, Plant 2 will stay intact under the proposal. The total estimated cost is about $4.7 million.
“The project is designed to have a capacity that will improve and provide water quality and water flow to meet the community's requirement into the year 2030,” Bryant said.
The current rate for the IEPA low-interest loan is 2.3 percent. Bryant has requested that the IEPA forgive 25 percent of the principle of the loan as laid out by the revolving infrastructure grant guidelines.
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