By WMBD TV
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) — The Bloomington City Council is spending roughly $25 million to replace lead pipes and complete its water line overhaul.
The Locust Street Combined Sewer Overflow Elimination and Water Main Replacement Project will move into phase eight. It’s the second-to-last phase that will cost $8 million to change the water lines underneath the streets southwest of the Oakland Avenue Jewel Osco.
Unanimously approved by the council with no discussion on Monday night, the construction will be done by Stark Excavating, an Illinois company with an office in Bloomington.
Mayor Dan Brady said they’ve increased water rates to fund this and to replace lead pipes. He said the city will be better off when they’re completed.
“Is it costly? Absolutely. But things that take time, investment and money are worth it,” he said.
The area south of the Oakland Avenue Jewel Osco has a combined sewer, where the stormwater and water lines are combined. This is a problem when the sewer overflows, sending sewage water into creeks and streams.
The city’s fix is to separate the two lines, creating a water line and a sewer line, with the latter connecting to a wastewater treatment plant instead of a body of water.
Phases one, six and seven were completed in 2013, with phase two completed in 2022, phase three in 2023 and phases four and five in 2024.
When it comes to lead, the city council approved $17 million to continue identifying and replacing service lines.
Places with no or unknown lead pipes include areas around the north side of White Oak Road, anything east of Veterans Parkway and anything southwest of the Highland Park Golf Course.
That’s according to Bloomington’s website, which shows most parts of Downtown and the surrounding area have lead or unknown pipes. There are currently 5,606 lead pipes needing to be replaced, with 5,744 service lines currently unknown.
Brady said federal and state mandates require the city to do something about the pipes.
“There’s going to be more investment in this in the future budgets,” he said.
This story originated at WMBD TV. The original story can be found on CIProud.com.
