Springfield Signs on for $200 Million in Water Infrastructure

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has approved a Springfield plan to upgrade its sanitary sewer system, a massive project that will cost the city $200 million of work through completion of that phase in 2025. Once complete, the work will significantly reduce the likelihood that heavy rains could overwhelm the 150-million gallon capacity of the city’s sewer system.

In 2012, Springfield came up with something of a down payment on the work, $50 million for its early-action plan to address the oldest sewer lines and keep storm water out of the sewer lines. Now, the city can address repairs to pipes and manholes, along with poor sewer connections on private property.

Officials said that with the new system in place, there’s a smaller chance that partially-treated waste water would be released during a downpour, something that hasn’t happened since 2011. With approval from both the City Council and the state in hand, the task turns toward a financing mechanism for that work, which could entail increases of about 6 percent in customer bills each year through 2025.