A $49M plan for better water treatment in the stateline

BELOIT, Wis. (WIFR) - After a year and a half of planning, the city of Beloit breaks ground on a major upgrade to it’s water treatment facility.

If it goes as planned, city residents will enjoy better quality water. Donohue Associates, a water treatment consulting firm, helped get the project started. It also involves being more energy efficient and disinfect wastewater while being budget friendly.

“This is a great investment in our community, we’re investing in sustainability, and we’re investing in economic growth,” said Bill Frisbee, Director of Water Resources at the plant.

Upgrades will include ultraviolet lights that kill chemicals in the water, new aeration blowers to extract compounds from the water, and a new building. Not only will residents within the city benefit from these upgrades, farmers and gardeners will too, by improving the soil and our crops.

“A lot of nutrients that are in our waste product, that are very beneficial for our agricultural land. Then with a class-A project we can also use it as fertilizer on lawns anywhere. We can use it here, we can use it at residence, we can use it at parks,” said Frisbee.

“If people can just understand that and how important it is for the environment and for the earth. You know, you hear about global warming. These are the steps that we can take,” said Chris Lockett who is the Project Manager at Donohue Associates.