Increased capacity for a growing Village

The Village of Mt. Zion, a bedroom community of Decatur, Illinois, was in need of a comprehensive engineering analysis of the Village’s water system to determine necessary upgrades and create an expansion plan. MSA led a thorough study of the entire water system and provided recommendations on solutions.

The first step was to create a water system model of the existing Mt. Zion water distribution system in order to determine optimal storage, water main looping and pumping improvement options. This led to the design and permitting of water system upgrades for the Village, including a new, larger-capacity elevated water storage tank,  booster station upgrades and large diameter water main looping.

One million gallons

Old water tower

One of the major problems with the existing water tower — built in the 1950s — was a holding capacity maximum of only 100,000 gallons.  Mt. Zion, on average, uses three to four times that amount on a daily basis: 400,000 gallons. In order to accommodate current usage rates and to plan for the inevitable expansion of this growing Central Illinois community, a new and larger water tower was determined to be the best solution. The new tower would be a 1,000,000-gallon, composite style, elevated water storage tank with an accompanying Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)-controlled booster station containing variable water source and pumping rate selection abilities. The new tank’s proposed height was raised to increase pressure and demand flows throughout the Village.

Sizing things up

In addition, the MSA team proposed changes to the water main sizing and distribution structure within the Village, including over 4,000 linear feet of large 12-inch water mains that looped together to connect critical locations within the water system. The alignments of the water mains were coordinated between the Village, a private developer and IDOT for the entire route. The water distribution changes, along with the new elevated water storage tank, provided significant improvements to available fire suppression flow, increased water pressures throughout and upgraded flow and storage capacities.

MSA’s surveyors performed property research and easement plats for several locations along the new route. To minimize disturbance to water service for the residents and businesses of the community, the team utilized several complex connections, disconnections and phasing of the water main project design, which worked to keep all existing users in service during the installation.

Success through strategy

On November 7, 2018, Village officials, project stakeholders and citizens gathered at an open house to celebrate the completion of the upgraded system. The entire project was funded by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) State Revolving Loan Fund for Public Water Systems in Illinois, with funding assistance applied for and administered by MSA.

The Village of Mt. Zion chose to take a proactive approach to upgrading its water system infrastructure. As they purchase their water from the neighboring City of Decatur, this investment in providing safe, reliable, high-quality water service to its community — and in making diligent improvements to the connected water system — will benefit and sustain both municipalities for decades to come.