Illinois American Water completed $157 million in upgrades to its Metro East regional water treatment plant in East St. Louis this year.
The plant, located just across the Mississippi River near the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge, serves a population of 350,000 in St. Clair and Madison counties, according to the company.
The project included construction of an elevated water storage tank, installation of new water pumps on the Mississippi River, a new backup pump, two more wells that triple the plant’s storage capacity and new water treatment methods. "The major investments to our East St. Louis plant over the past six years are strategic, significant and sustainable," Rebecca Losli, Illinois American Water’s president, said in a statement. "The projects position us to continue providing quality water service in the Metro East that meets or surpasses regulatory quality standards."
Work on this effort started in 2019, Illinois American Water said.
The plant had been originally constructed to serve East St. Louis in the late 1800s. It currently supplies approximately 39.3 million gallons of water per day.
Belleville, Brooklyn, Cahokia Heights, East St. Louis, Fairmont City, Sauget, Shiloh and Swansea are all served directly by the treatment facility. The municipal systems of O'Fallon, some of Cahokia Heights, Caseyville, Columbia, Fairview Heights, Millstadt and Scott Air Force Base all purchase water from the plant, too.
Illinois American Water, a publicly traded company, has been expanding its footprint throughout the Metro East over the past decade.
The small city of Madison sold its wastewater plant to the company for $3 million this year. Additionally, Granite City sold for $86.25 million in 2024, Alton for $54.85 million in 2019 and the Metro East Sanitary District for $8.4 million in 2024.
In total, Illinois American Water has added more than 85,000 drinking and wastewater customers in the Metro East since 2013, according to the company.
"Our focus at the East St. Louis water treatment plant is an example of continuous investments and improvements to meet the demands of today's customers and planning for the future,” Losli said. “Continued investments are needed across the nation to maintain critical water and wastewater infrastructure."
