EAST ALTON, Ill.—A pair of Metro East neighboring communities are sharing nearly $6 million in federal funds which will expand water treatment capacity and mitigate flooding issues.
In a news conference Monday at the East Alton Municipal Building,, U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski discussed the awards with the mayors of East Alton and Wood River.
East Alton will use $5 million to help bring the village’s water treatment plant up to EPA standards and to expand capacity.
“The planned upgrades to the village water treatment will expand our production by over a million gallons a day, significantly improve the plant’s redundancy and reliability and assist the village in addressing the treatment of the newly regulated forever chemicals,” said East Alton Mayor Darren Carlton.
Half of the water produced by the village serves industrial firms there, which will face more demand thanks to copper and alloy specialist Wieland’s $500 million expansion in the community.
Next door in Wood River, the city will use $850,000 to build a retention pond that will lower the base flood elevation, helping to mitigate flooding issues.
“When we talk about infrastructure investments, I know we think roads and bridges but really in our communities, water infrastructure is something that is so critically important,” Budzinski said.
“Investing in water infrastructure is critical for public safety, for economic development for the vitality of our communities,” she added.