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Decatur staff outline $242 million water and wastewater bond plan, multi‑year schedule
Summary
City engineers and finance staff presented a $242 million plan of water and wastewater capital projects — including a new wastewater plant, gravity sewer lines, water-plant expansion and legacy-plant rehabilitations — with a multi-year design, permitting and construction schedule targeting spring 2029 operations.
City staff told council members that Decatur will need a major multi-year capital program to serve growth on the city’s north side and to expand drinking-water and wastewater treatment capacity.
Andrew Simonson, who briefed council on the projects and costs, described four principal elements: a new wastewater plant on a north-side greenfield site to reduce reliance on lift stations and relieve the legacy plant; approximately five miles of gravity sewer ranging roughly from 24-inch to 12-inch pipe to convey flow to the new plant; rehabilitation and minor expansion of the existing wastewater plant to address recurring rain-related stresses; and expansion of the existing water plant from about 3 million gallons per day (MGD) to 6 MGD plus the raw-water pump station and transmission line on the raw-water side.
Simonson presented updated, inflated cost estimates that total about $242 million: roughly $114 million for the new wastewater plant, $48–49 million for the water-plant expansion, and $52–53 million for legacy-plant rehabilitation (gravity sewer and other line items included in the total). He said those numbers reflect construction-cost inflation assumptions and contingencies and that final bids will be needed to fix a guaranteed maximum price.
Simonson gave a high-level schedule that assumes initial design work beginning in mid‑2025 and construction primarily in 2027–2028, with a target of spring 2029 for the new facilities to be operational. He emphasized the lead time needed for property acquisition, permitting and SCADA and operations integration: “There will be a lot of moving pieces … design, property acquisition, permitting,” he said, and warned that crews and inspectors will need to be prepared as construction ramps up.
Council members asked about how private development intersects with the plan; Simonson said a private developer (identified in the presentation as Libertas) will install a 21‑inch line through its site that will connect into the city’s planned 24‑inch transmission line, allowing the city to pick up and continue the system. He also said the city expects to abandon roughly one-third of existing lift stations (about seven to eight) once the gravity conveyance and new plant are in service, reducing operation-and-maintenance loads.
No formal action was taken; staff asked whether council wants the city to begin a bond process conversation at upcoming meetings so that the mayor and council can assess comfort with the schedule, the scale of borrowing, and revenue sources such as impact fees and water rates.
