This is really needed to meet future growth, said City Manager Robert Knabel. Without it, we would find ourselves severely restricted.

The plans for expansion were pushed to the forefront in 2005 after several months of heavy rains and temporary filtration problems caused the plant to exceed state limits on how much water was dumped into Cahokia Canal.

Those issues, combined with the city’s anticipated residential and commercial growth, have prompted city officials to draft an expansion plan. The project hit a snag that lasted nearly a year due to Illinois Environmental Protection Agency concerns about plant’s outflow into the canal. An agreement was eventually reached between the parties and the city was able to obtain the correct permits.

Although development has slowed recently and the stadium proposal remains in limbo, Water and Sewer Department Director Bob Frank said that the project remains extremely vital for future planning purposes.

It’s still needed, because we are still stretching our limits, Frank said. This expansion will make us able to handle anything that is built here.

Currently, the plant’s average daily flow limit is at 4.12 million gallons. The expansion would increase that amount to 5.8 million gallons.

The project’s delay also appears to have saved the city some money. The original estimates called for the expansion to cost closer to $10.3 million, before the prices of copper and steel began to come down.

Funds for the project are expected to come partially from sewer fees, which the city raised last year from $4.80 per 1,000 gallons to $5.04 per 1,000 gallons.

The city has around 13,000 water customers and 9,000 customers that receive sewer service in Collinsville, Maryville, State Park Place and unincorporated Madison County.

Collinsville has already invested between $3 and 4 million on building sludge basins and making various renovations to the plant. Once the expansion is complete, Knabel said, they would also need to purchase an ultraviolet disinfection system for the plant, which would run about $1 million.

The plant opened in 1972.

By the numbers

$6.9 million: the project’s cost.

4.12 million: the current average daily flow handled by the water plant.

5.8 million: the new water flow in the expanded plant.

275: the amount, in miles, of water lines in Collinsville .