Litchfield Backs $1.48 Million Grant Bid for Third Phase of Water Main Work

Article Summary: The Litchfield City Council unanimously approved a resolution of support for a $1,482,809 Community Development Block Grant application that would fund replacement of an aging 10-inch cast iron water main along Union Avenue, and separately authorized up to $40,000 for a grant-administration contractor contingent on the award.

Water Main Phase III Key Points:

The city intends to apply on or about Aug. 27, 2026, for $1,482,809 in State CDBG funds, of which $831,855.85 would go to activities benefiting low-to-moderate income (LMI) residents.

The project would replace the old 10-inch cast iron main from Yeager Lake Trail to Chestnut Street along Union Avenue (Illinois 16), pulling the line out from under the IDOT-controlled highway and into a city-controlled utility easement.

The project area — Block Group 1, Census Tract 9578 — has 775 residents, 435 of them low-to-moderate income, an LMI rate of 56.10%.

A second unanimous vote authorized soliciting an activity-delivery contractor and issuing a contract, contingent on grant award, for an amount not to exceed $40,000.

LITCHFIELD — The Litchfield City Council on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, unanimously approved a resolution of support for a $1,482,809 Community Development Block Grant application to replace a deteriorating water main along Union Avenue, and in a second vote authorized spending up to $40,000 on a contractor to deliver the grant activities if the money comes through.

Alderperson Bob Garcia, who carries the council’s water portfolio, made both motions. Alderperson Bert Holloway seconded the resolution of support. Every roll call recorded in the meeting audio passed without a dissenting vote.

The application is for the third phase of a multi-phase water main replacement program. According to the project summary in the council packet, the city owns and operates its own treatment plant and distribution system, and “many of the existing water mains are old cast iron water mains that are nearing the end of their useful life.” Two phases of replacement near Lake Lou Yaeger are being completed now.

Phase III targets a line that packet documents say has been subject to multiple main breaks. The stated focus of this phase is “to remove the old deficient water mains from under the IDOT controlled highway and into the City controlled utility easement.” The replacement main would run south of Union Avenue (Illinois 16), from Yeager Lake Trail on the east to Chestnut Street on the west.

An engineering exhibit in the packet breaks the proposed alignment into two segments: 10-inch main from Chestnut Street to Locust Street, a distance shown as 1,530 feet, and 14-inch main from Locust Street to Yeager Lake Trail, shown as 3,155 feet. The exhibit marks connections to existing 4-, 6-, 10- and 14-inch mains, including tie-ins at North Illinois Avenue, North Locust Street, Montgomery Avenue, Walnut Street, Corlew Street, Sunshine Park and North Chestnut Street. An existing 16-inch transmission main is marked to remain.

Rate Test and Project Area

The packet frames the grant request partly as a matter of what Litchfield ratepayers are already carrying. The city revised its water rates as of July 1, 2026, “to help offset rising operation and maintenance costs,” the project summary says. Under DCEO guidance cited in the same document, a utility bill must be a minimum of 1% of the community’s MHI to qualify. At 1%, Litchfield’s minimum monthly bill for 5,000 gallons would be $42.04; the current monthly bill of $57.80 works out to 1.37% of MHI.

“The City hopes to secure grant funds to ensure costs are not pushed off onto the residents who are already paying above the 1% standard in water rates,” the summary states.

The service area is Block Group 1 of Census Tract 9578, with a population of 775, of whom 435 are low-to-moderate income — an LMI percentage of 56.10%.

The State CDBG program is funded through Title I of the federal Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended, and the application goes to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The resolution of support directs that the city “apply for a grant under the terms and conditions of the State of Illinois,” authorizes the mayor and city clerk to execute the necessary documents, and authorizes them to provide additional information required to obtain the grant. The packet lists the City Administrator, Director of Public Works, Street Superintendent, Public Works Coordinator and HMG Engineers as recommending approval.

Driveways and Restoration

Discussion turned less on the pipe than on what happens to residents’ yards and driveways afterward. Mayor Jacob Fleming said the city’s new public works director, identified in the meeting only as Dominic, or “Dom,” had raised driveway access as one of his main concerns, and asked staff to explain how restoration normally works.

A staff member said crews backfill the trenches, then wait. “Once they backfill there is a settlement period. So they will overfill the ditches. They’ll let them settle,” the staff member said, adding that on the project currently underway, the tentative best window for crews to return, level and grow grass is the end of September into October.

Fleming said residents’ concerns were legitimate but that the funding had to come first.

“But first we have to get this grant. We can’t put the cart in front of the horse,” he said. “We definitely need the underground infrastructure, but we want to make sure we do it in a way that doesn’t impede the public too much.”

The second motion — approving solicitation of a contractor for activity delivery and issuing a contract contingent upon grant award for not more than $40,000 — drew no discussion before passing.

A public hearing on the proposed CDBG project was noticed in the packet for 6:15 p.m. the same evening, 15 minutes before the council meeting, with accommodation requests directed to Justin Vonder Haar at a Breese address and phone number.