City Council Examines Funding Options For Water System Upgrades

By Gordon HopkinsAs the City of Fairbury continues to struggle with both the quality and quantity of available drinking water, a variety of solutions have been examined. However, whatever the ultimate solution proves to be, it will have to be paid for. Craig Reinsch, lead engineer with Olsson’s Water and Wastewater team, discussed funding at a meeting of the Fairbury City Council Tuesday evening, October 21, “Last time we presented to the board was on May 6, and at that time we presented the recommendations of the water sourcing and updated water preliminary engineering report for the city. And at that time, we were authorized by the council to go ahead and submit a funding package to the Water and Wastewater Advisory Committee. And we have a result from that.” Olsson received two funding packages, one from the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) Rural Development, and the other from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. The discussion focused primarily on the USDA package because, according to Reinsch, “The difference is very, very stark.” “The total funding offer is just under $24.5 million, which includes the originally submitted cost plus just under a million dollars of interim financing,” said Reinsch. “The USDA is a lot more hands on within not only the design, but then the funding implementation of the project.” What Will Funds Be Used For?Reinsch explained some of the items that the funds will be used for.“The first item,” said Reinsch. “Is the high service pump station. This will replace the pumps that are in the basement of the power plant that are needed to transfer water from the underground reservoir into the distribution system in the tower.”Accessing the pumps in the now-defunct municipal power plant is problematic due to severe asbestos contamination after a contractor cut up asbestos insulation and left debris throughout the building back in 2022. “We’re looking at replacing water mains,” said Reinsch. “Along Fourth Street, basically from downtown out to a connection to the 14 inch (pipe) that runs up to the tower. That will allow us to upsize the high service pump slightly and to be able to move more water from the underground reservoir.”Olsson is also looking at what Reinsch called an “interconnect” between the City’s two water systems. Reinsch said, “Right now, the Crystal Springs system is separate and the East Well system is separate and they both function on their own. We are going to add some valving so that you could fill the underground reservoir from the “Crystal Springs” system. That then would allow you to at least use that resource. By not using Crystal Springs, that reservoir has been out of operation for over five years, which you’ve probably felt in town.”Schmidt said, “I just wanted to point out that some of this is just for maintenance. This is not all water sourcing.Reinsch concurred, “Correct. This does not change the city’s water capacity. It’s really taking care of the of the infrastructure and capacity that the city already has but is not able to use due to the current setup.” Pilot ProgramsThe City of Fairbury has been running three test-pilot programs to address the water quality issues that have plague the City’s water supply for years. The East Wellfield has consistently tested in the higher rage for nitrates, while the Crystal Springs well has been offline since 2001 due to the presence of biofilm.Two of those pilot programs have been completed, while the third is expected to be compete sometime this fall. While the final results are not yet available, Fairbury City Councilperson Brian Schmidt, who is also chair of the Water Sourcing Committee, has said initial indications are positive.Reinsch said, “We’ve had good results. We’ve learned quite a bit, and we are putting that information together in not only a pilot report, but also a design memorandum for the water plant that is anticipated to be completed by the end of the year.” The pilot programs have also attracted the attention of the state.“We also had a tour with the Department of Water, Energy and Environment on September 25,” said Reinsch. “So, we were able to get four of the state’s review engineers to have a better understanding of what is being proposed at that site.At the end of the meeting, the City Council voted to approve the application for USDA Rural Development financial assistance.

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