Possible Middletown/New Holland Water System Co-Op
Public meeting emphasizes the benefit to both communities

 

[September 18, 2023] 

The Village of New Holland hosted the second informational meeting regarding the water system upgrade proposal Cooperative or Intergovernmental Agreement between the Villages of Middletown and New Holland on Wednesday, September 13th at 5:30 p.m. at the New Holland Village Hall. The meeting's purpose was to allow residents of both Villages to ask questions, clarify information, and understand the process. This proposed plan is only in the first stages and much work still needs to be done, but decisions are needed sooner than later because of the date restrictions of the grants. The actual cost of the monthly rate increase to the individual resident will not be determined until a Co-Op or Intragovernmental Agreement is made, the facilities are built, the projects are completed, and the amount of water each household uses is assessed.

The meeting began with Seth Flach from Milano and Grunloh Engineers and Village of New Holland Board President, Annie Coers giving a synopsis of the water system needs in both Villages.

The floor was then opened for questions. Attendance included approximately 20+ residents from both Villages, the Middletown Fire Chief and Captain, the president and secretary for the New Holland Fire Protection District.

In 2020, separately and unknown to each other, both the Village of Middletown and the Village of New Holland recognized the need to replace the aged-out water system. New Holland is in a critical situation. They must replace, all at the same time, the water mains, the water tower, and the water treatment plant due to age and deterioration. Therefore, New Holland applied for and received a much larger DCEO grant for the total replacement of the whole water system than Middletown’s grant.

Middletown applied for and was approved for a smaller DCEO grant to replace the water treatment plant only. Replacing the other two water system components in Middletown would be done in additional phases over the next few years which could mean the increase of the monthly rate each time a facility is constructed.

The cost of one water treatment plant, pre-covid, was approximately $750,000. The cost is now $1.4 million. With the cost in mind of building 2 water plants, 2 water towers, and 2 treatment plants in a small radius of one another, Milano and Grunloh Engineers suggested and put together a plan to combine the cost of replacing these facilities which would lower both Villages residents' monthly rates. Instead of each Village assuming the cost of duplicate infrastructures, the two Villages would share one system and its operating and maintenance costs.

With any new product or upgrade, there is always an increase in cost and that cost falls on the residents that use the product or service. The grants that the Villages applied for will help decrease costs greatly, however, it will not cover all the costs. The purpose of combining the water system into a Co-Op or Intergovernmental Agreement is to reduce the monthly rate increase to the residents by decreasing the building of facilities which will decrease the overall operational cost to the residents in both Villages.

The proposed co-op, proposed responsibilities, and proposed funding of each village include:

New Holland –

• Construction of a new elevated storage tank with a capacity of 100,000 gallons-Tower will be located near the east village limits in an existing park off East Lincoln St.

• Operational and maintenance costs of the plant, tower, water mains, and existing two wells will be shared equally between Villages of New Holland and Middletown

• The new water main between Middletown and New Holland will be of 6” PVC pipe between the water plant in Middletown and the elevated storage tank in New Holland. New Holland will fund this cost.

• Any new customers obtained along the 6” water main between New Holland and Middletown in Sherman Township, the operating/maintenance costs will be New Holland’s responsibility

Middletown –

• New Water Treatment Plant - The plant will be located near the existing water plant on North Middletown Rd, west of the village just in Menard County. Middletown will fund this cost.

• Operational and maintenance costs of the plant, tower, water mains, and existing two wells will be shared equally between Villages of New Holland and Middletown

• Any new customers obtained along the 6” water main between Middletown and New Holland in Corwin Township, the operating/maintenance costs will be Middletown’s responsibility

Combined Villages Responsibilities:

• The cost of the water produced by the water treatment plant will be determined by a five-member board consisting of a Village President from both New Holland and Middletown, one New Holland Trustee, One Middletown Trustee, and one new board member to be determined

• One Class B licensed operator will need to be hired to oversee the operation, maintenance, and repair of both communities’ public water supplies

• Each community will be responsible for the operation, maintenance, and improvements to its own public water system within the Village limits of each community

Any questions, please contact Village of New Holland President Annie Coers or Village of Middletown interim President, Amanda Lawrence.

[JA Hodgdon]