If all goes as planned, construction will begin this year on a new water treatment plant in Macomb.
Public Works Director Alice Ohrtmann said the city is coming into the home stretch for the project.
“If everything goes according to schedule, we will be out to bid in February, advertise for bid on the 11th, open bids on the 30th of March,” she said. “We need to give them 45 days to look at the drawings for a project of this complexity.”
After that, the Illinois EPA will need to approve the contracts, which Ohrtmann said could take several months.
The city will seek two sets of bids. One will be for the drilling of three wells, and the other for the rest of the project.
Ohrtmann hopes construction can begin by this August and be completed in August 2028.
The Illinois EPA last year approved a $37 million State Revolving Fund loan for construction of the plant. The loan includes $6 million in principal forgiveness.
The new water treatment plant will be built at the northwest corner of Grant and Ward streets. It will replace an aging plant in Glenwood Park.
The city currently gets the majority of its water from Spring Lake. The rest comes from a deep well.
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