Project Description

Many of the underground drinking water and sewer collection pipes in the City of Springfield are past their end of service life - in fact, approximately 40% are over 75 years old. The Commission is beginning to conduct evaluations, planning, surveys, and design for expanded water main and sewer collection pipe rehabilitation in FY 2024, which is financed with $31 million from EPA's WIFIA program.

The Commission utilizes asset management assessments to prioritize which pipe segments are most in need of replacement. For drinking water mains, these assessments include main break history, age, material, and other factors. In FY22 the Commission is also piloting alternate technologies to assist in proactively finding leaks in the distribution system.

Sewer collection pipes are prioritized for rehabilitation through the Collection System Cleaning and Assessment Program, an ongoing program that is moving into its 13th year in FY22.  Since 2009 the program has inspected over 430 miles of collection system pipe.  This proactive approach reduces sewer backups and enables the prioritization of ratepayer funding.

Expected benefits of these upgrades include improved system reliability, enhanced environmental protection, prioritization of ratepayer funds, and renewal of infrastructure that is past the end of its useful life.

Information about current distribution and collection system upgrades in your neighborhood can be found at https://waterandsewer.org/projects/.