Decatur council votes to fix sanitary, storm sewer systems | Courtesy of Shutterstock
Decatur council votes to fix sanitary, storm sewer systems | Courtesy of Shutterstock
Decatur announced the City Council's approval of repairs to the sanitary and storm sewer infrastructure at Tuesday night's meeting.
The council approved the $7.7 million agreement with SAK Construction to repair the 7th Ward sewer system, which serves the west side of the city. Funding for the project will be provided by a low-interest loan from the Illinois Water Pollution Control Loan Program.
The council also approved the Nelson Park project on the east side of the city. Long-standing problems with the sanitary and storm sewers date back to the 1970s and 1980s.
The $4.8 million loan from the same state program will enable the contractors to separate the two systems and help eliminate backups into basements and overflowing sewers during storm events.
The two projects are the first and second priority of the 46 areas identified in the 2009 Stormwater Master Plan.
The council also heard a presentation on retrofitting the city's lighting systems with LED lighting. LED lights will reduce the city's interior and exterior energy use by approximately 64 percent. The annual savings was estimated at $140,000.
The city had already received a rebate of $257,580 from the state, leaving $439,375 to be approved by the city council at its Jan. 30 meeting.
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