Ribbon-cutting ceremony to be held at new water treatment plant

By Gary Scott on May 24, 2018 at 6:23am

The city of Jacksonville is hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new water treatment plant this afternoon.

After several years in the making, the city of Jacksonville is ready to make it official with the event this afternoon at the new water treatment facility located on Hardin Avenue.

On hand for today’s ceremony will be Jacksonville Mayor Andy Ezard, who plans to speak briefly before he and other various city officials partake in the ribbon-cutting. The new water plant comes in with a price tag of $35 million dollars, and will treat around 9 million gallons of water per day.

The new plant has already been supplying close to 3 million gallons of water to city residents since February, and will up its supply to 4 or 5 million during the summer months, despite it being designed to supply 9 million gallons. According to officials with Benton & Associates, which oversaw the project, there are also features built into the new plant that allow for upgrades if necessary.

Water being treated at the new plant comes from Jacksonville’s supply from wells along the Illinois River or Lake Mauvaisterre. The former water treatment will be demolished in the coming weeks as part of the entire project is finalized.

The new water treatment plant is located on Hardin Avenue, approximately 100-feet north of the city’s old water treatment plant. Today’s ribbon-cutting ceremony takes place at 2 p.m.