EAST MOLINE, Ill. — East Moline is looking into upgrades for its water infrastructure. The city said it has to meet new regulatory requirements and replace facilities that are at the end of their service life.
There are three main systems the city wants to fix. The most expensive is the wastewater treatment plant and collection system. Its upgrades are estimated at $62 million. The drinking water treatment plant and distribution system needs about $42 million, and the storm water systems need about $3 million. However, city officials said these upgrades will save money in the long run.
If the city were to do all the proposed projects, residents could be looking at a utility rate increase every year for the next five years. For 2025, it's estimated at $16.40 a month, or nearly $200 a year. The city estimates the average household is paying $69.73 a month for water, sewer and storm water. That's an increase of more than 20%. However, this isn't a final figure.
It's a process cities across the country are coming to terms with — systems like wastewater and drinking water treatment are getting too old to use.
"We have a 70-year-old system, so you can imagine the breaks that happen every year that are ongoing and are larger and larger and more and more that we have to replace," City Administrator Mark Rothert said.
He said it's time for East Moline to take the plunge on water infrastructure upgrades.
"Either we keep paying for expensive emergency repairs or we build facilities that address the needs of our current demand," Rothert said.
But aging pipes aren't the only motivation. New regulations require cities to do work like replacing lead service lines within the next 10 years. Those are the pipes that bring water from water mains into buildings.
The city also needs to start removing phosphorus from its waste water by 2030. That's a nutrient found in wastewater that can cause algae blooms in water. It can harm environments like the Mississippi River when released in large concentrations.
"We’re not designed to be able to treat the phosphorus so it’s not just the infrastructure, it’s also that we need to put processes in place in order to be able to treat it," Antrena Trimble, director of the wastewater plant, said.
PFAS monitoring is also required. Brianna Huber, director of water filtration, said the city has been monitoring PFAS for the last two years. She said East Moline is far below limits, but the city needs a way to remove them from water.
"We do want to be prepared if something should change in the water quality," Huber said. "That way we can treat and not have to wait a year to have that treatment technique installed."
As part of the water treatment upgrades, Huber said the plant could get new technology. That could help staff watch how well equipment is working and fix that equipment before it fails.
FEMA requires a full audit of the city's flood protection measures. Director of Engineering Tim Kammeler said the process is expensive and time-consuming.
"They want to go back through essentially the whole gamut of proof that we have a levee that will stand up, and we have pumps that will do what they're supposed to do if a flood would come to pass," Kammeler said.
All of these outdated facilities and regulations need money to fix. Rothert said that $100 million price tag will be paid with a combination of long-term low-interest loans and gradual utility rate adjustments.
Those rate increases could start as early as January, but the exact amount depends on what loans and grants the city gets and what city council says. They'll decide which projects take priority and which should be saved for later.
Rothert said the city is looking at a relief program for those who can't afford the rate increases. He said new facilities could last about 50 to 70 years.