The City of Waterloo learned that loan funding for construction of its more than $30 million water treatment plant west of town has been reserved through an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency loan.

Last year, the Waterloo City Council approved an ordinance authorizing the city to borrow funds from the Public Water Supply Loan Program through the IEPA for this project.

Per the text of this ordinance, the loan will be repaid from revenues of the system, with principal and interest payable semi-annually. 

The city can decide to have this loan mature in either 20 or 30 years. City officials said the interest rate for this loan is 1.24 percent.

“We’re at the very, very beginning of this project, but we’ve secured the funding,” Waterloo Public Works Director Tim Birk said.

In 2021, the city purchased nearly 28 acres of land in the area of 7800 Bluff Road from the Village of Valmeyer for $215,000. This land will serve as the well site for Waterloo’s new water treatment plant. 

In 2019, Waterloo purchased 9.17 acres of land off East Hunters Ridge just east of Valmeyer for the future site of the treatment facility. The cost of that purchase was $229,250 and included 8,830 feet of easement both west and east of the future plant site for the installment of water line.

The water source for Waterloo’s new plant will be the Mississippi Aquaphor just north of Valmeyer.

Once completed, Waterloo’s new plant will be able to accommodate 3.5 million gallons of water per day. Presently, Waterloo uses about one million gallons per day.

Waterloo announced plans in February 2019 to build its own facility and leave Illinois American Water, its current provider, at the end of an existing contract that expires in October 2024.

“The goal is to lower or keep equal the (water) rates our residents pay now,” Waterloo Mayor Tom Smith said.

Next steps in the project, per the schedule laid out in the IEPA’s loan approval letter to the city, is to advertise for bids by March 1. Birk said the city will “try to be ahead of schedule” and will probably start seeking these bids in February.

Birk added that if bids for water treatment plant work come in higher than anticipated – which is distinct possibility due to rising costs of materials of late – the city can seek additional loan funds exceeding the $30,907,437.50 already approved by the IEPA.

Bids for the project are expected to be opened by April 15, per the schedule, with submission of bids by May 1 and the actual loan award on May 15.

As part of new water treatment plant project, the city is also building a new water tower on the Waterloo VFW property.

The city purchased this land for the new tower at a cost of $75,000. The new tower will have a storage capacity of 500,000 gallons of water. 

The existing tower next to Waterloo City Hall has a capacity of 250,000 gallons. 

The estimated cost of this new water tower is $2.5 million.

In other city news, a Waterloo City Council finance committee meeting took place last Tuesday night, during which committee members agreed on a recommendation that the city continue its earlier pledge of $200,000 toward the Waterloo Park District’s splash pad project in William Zimmer Park off Rogers Street. 

This recommendation came despite the park district not meeting previous stipulations made by the city council that other funding needed for the project be secured by a deadline initially imposed by project developers to hold bids at their current price.

This recommendation will be formally approved during the next city council meeting taking place this coming Tuesday night.

The park district has since revised its splash pad plans in an effort to cut project costs, the primary cut being the removal of a large parking lot.

The park district board is set to meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday inside Waterloo City Hall.