Litchfield Council Authorizes $183K in Emergency Water Plant Repairs Following System Failure

Litchfield City Council Meeting | Oct. 16, 2025

Article Summary: The Litchfield City Council waived competitive bidding to authorize over $183,000 in emergency repairs to the city’s water treatment plant following a failure of the chemical feed system. City officials emphasized the need for system redundancy and accountability to prevent future lapses in water quality.

Water Treatment Plant Key Points:

• Emergency Authorization: The council approved $183,336.80 in emergency expenditures to fix a “catastrophic failure” of the chemical feed system.

• Vendors Involved: Repairs involve multiple contractors, including Hach Equipment, Henson Robinson Company, and All Service Contracting.

• Operational Changes: The plant is currently utilizing a “free burn” chlorine method because the standard ammonia/monochloramine system is offline.

• Future Planning: The city expects a long-term improvement plan proposal from CMT Engineers by December to prioritize future upgrades.

The Litchfield City Council on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, voted unanimously to waive competitive bidding procedures and authorize $183,336.80 in emergency expenditures to address critical equipment failures at the Litchfield Water Treatment Plant.

According to the meeting agenda, the plant suffered a “catastrophic failure of its chemical feed system.” City Administrator Breann Vazquez explained that because of this failure, the plant is currently unable to use its standard mixture of monochloramines and ammonia. Instead, the facility has switched to a “free burn” method using free chlorine.

“The water is safe,” Vazquez assured the council, though she noted the change in chemical composition has resulted in taste and smell complaints from residents. “We believe the taste and smell are a result of this.”

The approved expenditures cover a wide range of immediate needs, including $59,909 for heater replacement by Henson Robinson Company, over $28,000 for potassium permanganate feed repairs, and nearly $80,000 for testing and metering equipment from Hach Equipment.

During the discussion, Alderperson Josh Hughes pressed the administration on the long-term viability of the plant and the prevention of future emergencies.

“Do we have a plan set in motion of how we are going to address it, making sure things like this do not happen again?” Hughes asked. “This is a big concern.”

Vazquez responded that the city is bringing in specialists to examine the SCADA system to ensure electronic alerts are functioning properly. She also noted that CMT Engineers is preparing a long-term improvement plan, expected by December, which will help the city prioritize capital improvements.

“We want to let the residents know that we are sorry this happened,” Hughes said. “It is important that we have accountability structures set in place.”

Mayor Jacob Fleming noted that while the sewer treatment plant is older, the water treatment plant—which is approximately 20 years old—should not be experiencing such severe issues if routine maintenance is upheld.

“One thing that we are going to be doing is ensuring that we have our routine maintenance log so that we can go in and look at any point in time and ensure that our equipment is being maintained,” Vazquez said.