Harristown water system repaired

HARRISTOWN, Ill. (WAND)- The Village of Harristown's water system has been repaired.

Residents had been asked to conserve water as the town's mission control was repaired.

"That control system tells the water plant when to send water to the water town. And the water town is what distributes water the village," Mayor Evelyn Deverell explained.

Since Wednesday, Decatur has been providing emergency water to Harristown, while the village waited for parts to be shipped for repairs.

But this is just a temporary fix. Harristown and four other villages are set to open a new water plant with EJ Water Cooperative in the coming weeks.

"Our water plant is almost 50 years old. It was either going to need major repairs, or a new water plant- as it was in each of those communities," Mayor Deverell told WAND News.

Latham, Niantic, Illiopolis and Mount Auburn will join Harristown in the co-op, rather than spend thousands for upgrades to aging water systems.

"It's cost effective. It's called regionalization, and it's happening with lots of things," Mayor Deverell said.

A USDA loan is getting the project off the ground, but it's expected to save the villages money and provide better quality water.

"As I said, it's a state-of-the-art water plant. A lot of the water plants in the villages are older, with older equipment, older filtration systems. So, the benefit will be really good water," Mayor Deverell said.

When the new plant goes online in the next month, residents will not have to take any steps to transition their service.