Winchester to undergo $3.4M water improvement project

WINCHESTER, Ill. (WGEM) - At Wednesday night’s city council meeting, city officials announced they will be undergoing a major water improvement project that will primarily replace century-old cast iron water lines.

Mayor Rex McIntire said it’s a project the city has been wanting to tackle for a while.

“We’ve had some complaints about the water not being the best,” said McIntire. “Fortunately it’s not a big area, but we had some residents bring in a couple samples and that’s what kind of got this thing going.”

McIntire said those complaints arose from residents living on the east side of town where the water line removal will take place. He said the water quality in that area poses a potential health hazard.

“The samples in some glass jars had sediments floating in them from the old lines,” McIntire said. “And there’s always buildup and things like that.”

McIntire said the samples helped their case in obtaining a $1 million USDA grant that will cover the cost of a third of the project. The rest of the cost is going to be covered by the approval of a low-interest loan.

McIntire said work is expected to start in summer 2023.

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