Utilities Announces Plans to Update Infrastructure

City of Bloomington Utilities will be replacing water mains across the city during coming weeks in an effort to update the City’s water delivery infrastructure.  Over 75% of the existing water mains are over 50 years old, with some dating as far back as 1910.  

Repeatedly repairing existing infrastructure is expensive and inefficient. A more cost-effective and longer lasting solution is to replace failing infrastructure. This investment in modern water infrastructure will provide more reliable water delivery for many years to come.

“There is only so far a repair can go. An investment in updating the necessary mains will result in long-term savings,” says Utilities department director Vic Kelson. “Bottom line: We need to upgrade our infrastructure.”

Utilities’ water main replacement schedule will be prioritized based several factors: Water mains with a history of problems will be replaced first, followed by mains feeding IU Health Bloomington, area schools, pipes known to be old or in poor condition, and neighborhoods already queued for road work.  Most replacements will occur in residential neighborhoods.