Marengo's New Water Filtration Plant Opens on Greenlee Street

Marengo's new water filtration plant on Greenlee Street is up and running. City officials, joined by federal and state leaders, cut the ribbon on the $7.55 million facility on June 15 and marked the occasion with a "first pour" toast using water from the new plant. The city says the facility has been fully operational since that day.

For residents, the news is in the water itself. The plant is built to remove iron, manganese, and radium from the city's municipal supply, according to the city. Alongside it, the city drilled a new well (Well No. 9, at 1,020 feet deep) that it says adds backup and capacity so the system stays reliable as the town grows.

"This plant represents a landmark investment in the daily lives of our residents and the long-term future of our community," Mayor Mike Proffitt said in the city's announcement.

The plant is the first phase of a larger, nearly $27 million plan to upgrade the area's water and wastewater systems, funded through grants from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). The June 15 ribbon-cutting drew U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, State Sen. Dave Syverson, State Rep. Joe Sosnowski, and DCEO regional director Renee Wott. McMahon Associates, Inc. designed the plant and IHC Construction Companies, LLC built it.

Photos: K-Adams Foto.

There's a growth angle, too. After the ceremony, regional leaders held an economic-development roundtable with the McHenry County Economic Development Corporation and the Region 1 Planning Council. The city says the added water capacity is meant to help open land along the Route 23 and Interstate 90 corridor for industrial and logistics development, part of a long-term plan that has followed the 2019 opening of the I-90 and Route 23 interchange. The city points to a recent $4.6 million DCEO grant to fund a later phase, and Rep. Foster said he is working to secure more than $1.4 million in federal funding for the next stages.

What it means for your water bill

Because the city is presenting the plant as part of a broader infrastructure program, Marengo Weekly asked City Hall directly whether the new facility and Well No. 9 would raise residents' water rates. The answer was no. City Administrator Derik Morefield said the new plant will not trigger any new rate hikes. The utility rate adjustments the city enacted earlier this year, he said, were driven by industry-wide inflation on treatment chemicals and materials, and by years of previously deferred increases, rather than by the project. Under a newly restructured program passed by the City Council, Morefield said, utility rates will now be reviewed by staff and the Council annually to reflect actual operating costs, with the city aiming to use the new plant's efficiency to help keep those yearly evaluations stable for residents.

The city also says existing residents are carrying none of the construction debt. According to Morefield, the filtration plant was paid for entirely out of the state infrastructure grant the city secured in 2022, so none of its cost falls on existing ratepayers. A related effort to extend utilities along the Route 23 corridor is 80% covered by a DCEO Site Readiness Grant, with the remaining 20% local share set up as a 0% interest loan from McHenry County. The city says that loan will be repaid over time by the new commercial and industrial developers that connect along the tollway corridor, not by existing household water bills.

More on the project is at cityofmarengo.com.