Quincy, Ill. (KHQA) — Water infrastructure has been a hot topic in the city of Quincy for some time now.
Main breaks peaked in the city around 2015, due to neglect caused by budgetary constraints in the prior decades.
The city has nearly 300 miles of water mains, at least 100 of which are over 100 years old.
The expected lifespan of these cast iron lines is just 75 years.
But now the city is working diligently to repair and bring the system into the modern age.
There are currently three main projects going on in the city: the water treatment plant project, which has multiple projects in and of itself, and two water main replacements.
The water treatment plant project includes masonry work, running new pipes, creating a new flood accessible path to the plant, and soon a clear water well bypass system.
The timeline for that bypass was moved up after the pipe break that occurred in September.
Fortunately, most of the work to repair that break was done by city workers, meaning it only cost taxpayers a few thousand dollars to repair.
Ultimately, when the project is done in the summer of 2025, the water treatment plant will be much more resistant to flooding than it currently is.
Water main replacements are taking place at 30th and Broadway, and 24th and Vermont Street.
The 30th street project should move to its next phase, resurfacing, soon and the Vermont project is moving along nicely.
It’s worth noting that the city is replacing the water mains with PVC, which is much more resistant to corrosion caused by acidic soil.
The PVC lines will basically only be vulnerable to breakage caused by soil movement.
The valves are being replace by coated ductile iron valves, which are much more durable than cast iron valves.
An ideal maintenance schedule would include replacing the oldest 1% of mains per year, keeping up with a 100-year maintenance schedule.
Currently the city is replacing just over 1% per year, at that rate it could take 50 years to catch up.
But, once the large projects at the water treatment plant are done, Director of Public Works Jefferey Conte hopes the city can shorten that timeline.
Looking towards the future, the city has three big projects on the horizon.
First is replacing the pump systems at the water plant. That includes four raw water pumps, and four high service pumps, which pump the finished water out to the city.
This will also include replacing all the electrical controls, with the current control systems dating back to the 1950s.
A secondary water clarifier from 1957 will also be refurbished. They will also need to either replace or rehabilitate the clear water well, as it was built in the early 1900s, and is starting to show its age.
The other massive project is replacing lead service lines. It is projected that to replace all lead service line in the city it would cost 50 to 60 million dollars.
The city only has until 2037 to complete the project, and with their being an estimated 6,000 lead lines in the city, it would have to replace one line per day to stay on schedule.
“Getting one service line in a day is a big deal, and then you have to do that every day,” said Jeffery Conte, Director of Public Works.
Quincy is only obligated to replace up to the curb shutoff valve, but the city isn’t eligible for grant money for the replacements if they don’t replace the entire line all the way into the home.
Whether or not the city continues to replace the full lines will be up to the city council, and if the hit from losing grant funding outweighs the cost of replacing entire service lines.
Finally, is the Broadway water main replacement project.
This will be a major undertaking for the city, going from 12th street to at least 24th, and will likely include some areas between 25th and 36th streets that will be replaced.
Currently the city is in the design phase for that project.