Litchfield Approves $14,400 Softener Replacement at Water Plant

Litchfield City Council | October 15, 2026

Article Summary: The Litchfield City Council on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, approved replacing the softening system serving the membrane filter feed line at the Litchfield Water Treatment Plant after the 2011-vintage unit failed Oct. 1, authorizing a purchase from Culligan of Decatur/Springfield for an amount not to exceed $14,400.

Water Plant Softener Key Points:

• The softener serving the membrane filter failed Oct. 1, 2026; it was installed in 2011 and repair parts are no longer available.
• The unit supplies softened water to the membrane filter for chemical addition and cleaning, and can serve as backup for the ammonia feed system.
• The replacement is identical to the plant’s ammonia softening system so the city can work with one company and stock one set of parts for both.
• Culligan’s quotation totals $13,400 for equipment plus $1,000 for installation.

LITCHFIELD — The Litchfield City Council on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, approved the replacement of the softening system serving the membrane filter feed line at the Litchfield Water Treatment Plant by Culligan for an amount not to exceed $14,400.

Alderperson Bob Garcia, who carries the council’s Water and Sewer portfolios, made the motion. It carried by roll call.

What Failed

The staff memo states the softening system serving the membrane filter failed on Oct. 1, 2026. “This softener system supplies softened water to the membrane filter for chemical addition and ultimately cleaning of the unit,” the memo says, and “in addition this unit can serve as backup for the ammonia feed system.”

The current system was installed in 2011, the memo says, and “although attempts to repair the softener were made parts are no longer available.” Staff asked to buy a system identical to the softening system already serving the ammonia feed: “By doing this, we can work with one company and stock one set of parts for both softeners.”

On the floor, Garcia and the plant manager discussed the age of the equipment. The plant has two such units, the plant manager said, and the council had handled an emergency replacement of the other one at its previous meeting. He described one unit as roughly 14 years old and the one now being replaced as roughly 16 years old; the staff memo gives the installation year as 2011.

The Quote

The Culligan Matrix Solutions quotation in the packet is dated Oct. 2, 2026, prepared by Jeff Miller of the U.S. Water Culligan Group, Culligan of Decatur, Ill., and addressed to Veolia North America at the Litchfield Water Treatment Plant, 4303 Il Rt 16 East, attention Dan Held and John Shaw.

It specifies a Culligan HE Twin Softener HET-150 with two 10-inch by 65-inch media tanks, a 24-inch by 50-inch brine tank and flex plumbing adaptors, at $13,400, tax not included, plus $1,000 for installation. “Culligan will remove old softener and brine tank. Install new unit and perform initial start-up,” the quotation states. Start-up and training cover one job site visit scheduled at least seven days in advance during normal business hours, with start-up limited to two hours and training to no more than one hour.

The quotation’s acceptance block is signed “Signed on behalf of the City of Litchfield, IL” by John Shaw, plant manager, dated Oct. 2, 2026 — 13 days before the council voted. The terms attached to the quotation state that it “does not constitute an offer to provide and/or perform the product/work at this price but is instead a quotation for such services.”

The city administrator, public works director and Veolia North America recommended the purchase. The city contracts plant operations to Veolia; Litchfield’s water comes from Lake Lou Yaeger, the municipal lake whose beach the Illinois Department of Public Health inspected in August.