Anderson City Council approves $130 million water system overhaul, will raise utility bills
Improvements planned for Anderson’s waterworks approved recently by the Anderson City Council could nearly double water utility bills by 2029. As IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports, $130 million in bonds will pay for the upgrades.
The improvement plan for the more-than 50-year-old system would see decades of old piping replaced throughout the city. It also includes the construction of a new water treatment plant over the course of four years.
Anderson City councilman Greg Graham believes the project will be the highlight of the city’s current administration.
“We only have to look back to the example of Flint, Michigan, to know what a horrible problem not having clean drinking water can cause,” he said. “It is a complete, about as complete as you can get, rebuilding of the water system.”
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One of the city’s current water treatment facilities, the Wheeler plant, is more than 75 years old and requires operators all days and hours, as well as additional chemicals and physical treatment techniques to function properly.
Engineering consultants from Curry and Associates, hired by Anderson, say they see more than 100 water main breaks and over 240 service line breaks every year. That costs the city $440,000 annually.
Monthly water utility rates across the city will increase incrementally to pay back the bonds. The current average monthly water bill of $23.51 will almost double by the spring of 2029.
The proposed rate increases still have to be approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
Thomas Ouellette is our reporter and producer. Contact him at [email protected].
