Indiana American Water joined local and state officials, community leaders and project partners last Friday to break ground for a new $30 million water treatment facility in Sheridan.
The project will improve water quality, safety, efficiency, and system reliability while also adding additional capacity in this fast-growing community.
“Sheridan is already a vibrant and dynamic community that has a lot going for it,” Indiana American Water President Matt Prine said. “The lifeblood of any great community is high-quality drinking water, and these investments will support the Town as they encourage growth while staying true to the area’s agricultural heritage.”
The new treatment facility will include filtration to better remove iron and manganese from the area’s groundwater source, replace the existing backup power generator, and add new pumping equipment and a 500,000-gallon finished water storage tank.
“We appreciate the investments Indiana American Water is making in our community to improve our local water and wastewater infrastructure,” Sheridan Town Council member David Kinkead said. “As we look to the future, these types of investments greatly enhance the quality of life for existing residents and businesses and also allow us to grow and thrive in the years ahead.”
The plant will nearly quadruple treatment capacity to provide approximately two million gallons of filtered drinking water per day and is being constructed so it can be easily expanded as future demand requires additional capacity.
According to Prine, “The project will also allow the company to switch from using chlorine gas at the facility to a much safer liquid form of chlorine know as sodium hypochlorite to produce chloramines that disinfect water during the treatment process.
“We are committed to incorporating efficiency, sustainability and safety components into our operations and facilities,” Prine continued. “Over the last several years, we have already converted nearly half of our water facilities around the state to this much safer form of water disinfection and have plans to invest approximately $30 million to convert the remainder of our water and wastewater treatment facilities over the next five years.”
The new treatment plant includes construction of a new bulk storage facility, including several large storage tanks and feed equipment to utilize sodium hypochlorite for the water treatment disinfection process and liquid ammonia sulfate to generate the chloramines used in the water distribution system. The facility also includes robust chemical containment and storage safety features to mitigate the risks associated with any accidental spills or discharges.
The project is using a design-build concept, bringing together construction and design professionals in a collaborative effort to enhance the quality of the finished project and to control project costs more effectively. The design team of Gannett Fleming and Reynolds Construction is designing and constructing the new treatment facility, which will be placed in service during the fall of 2024 with final completion by the end of next year.
Indiana American Water acquired the Sheridan water and wastewater systems in December 2018 and has already invested more than $12 million in its local infrastructure, including $10 million to upgrade the town’s wastewater treatment facility. The company serves approximately 2,500 customers, or a population of more than 3,000 residents in Sheridan.