SILVIS, Ill — Silvis has struggled with water-pressure issues for years, and now some Silvis residents might be getting some relief.
Silvis City Council members approved an intergovernmental agreement on Tuesday to purchase water from Moline. Silvis will receive around 400,000 gallons of water a day.
A water main will be constructed to connect the two cities. Mayor Matthew Carter said that's expected to be finished this August.
Carter explained the water issue in Silvis comes down to source capacity.
"We've been living off of shallow wells for well, through the entire existence of Silvis," he said. "And through construction and building and growth over time, we're running out of water. To that point either we put multi-million dollars into our system and still have hard water and then add another several million dollars with moving the plant, (or) the other option would be to do a roughly $1.1 million upgrade and purchase water through Moline."
Silvis wanted to avoid digging new deepwater wells, Carter added. The project would be more expensive and then it runs into the issue of radium, which is commonly found in deep water wells.
"Then we would have to remove that radium and that's about a $3 million operation," he said.
Not all Silvis residents will benefit from the new agreement, but a little over half will. Residents living mostly from the bluff south to the John Deere Road corridor will receive Moline water.
Silvis residents on the new Moline water line will start noticing softer water this fall, according to Carter.
"You're going to use less energy in your water heater and the clothes will be more manageable," he said. "They won't break down as quickly as on hard water versus soft water."
Purchasing Moline's water is also a "long-term solution."
"This has been an issue since the beginning of Silvis and it was a reason some people thought of coming to Silvis, it was a no-go because of the water," Carter said. "This is definitely a plus for us."