DECATUR, Ind. — A major water infrastructure project in Decatur is set to double its original scope, allowing the city to aggressively replace aging water mains and hundreds of additional lead service lines after initial construction bids came in significantly under budget.
An engineer from Commonwealth Engineers told the City Council on Tuesday that bids for three of the project’s four construction divisions came in between $1 million and $2 million under estimate due to strong competition among contractors.
The substantial cost savings allowed engineers to add a mandatory alternative to the final contract, which will be bid Thursday morning. The adjustment adds pricing for an additional 500 service replacements per year.
“Double what I originally told you guys literally six, seven, eight months ago,” the engineer said. “And I think it’s a phenomenal way for the City of Decatur… to replace a lot of water main and get a lot of lead service lines out of the system.”
The city’s original target was to eliminate 518 lead service lines, a number that was bumped to 560 when final plans were completed. With the newly added contract options, the city will actively ferret out and replace hundreds more as part of the infrastructure overhaul.
The accelerated timeline comes as municipalities nationwide face a strict federal timeline. According to the project engineer, any city with lead service lines is currently mandated by the federal government to correct the problem within approximately the next 10 years.
Decatur’s project is being financed through a $22 million funding package from the State Revolving Fund (SRF) Loan Program. The package includes $5.5 million in principal forgiveness grants, a $2.5 million 0% interest loan, and $14 million in traditional loans locked at 2.98% for 35 years.
Bond counsel from Barnes & Thornburg highlighted the rarity of the 35-year term, noting that open-market deals typically cap repayment at 20 years with double the interest rate. Specific infrastructure targets named in the project description include improvements on Canterbury Drive and within the Canterbury Meadows subdivision.
Local officials emphasized that the sweeping overhaul is long overdue for the city’s aging network. While the typical lifespan of a water main is roughly 50 years, many of the lines slated for replacement in Decatur are between 50 and 100 years old. Council members pointed to past disruptions to illustrate the system’s fragility, noting that Elm Street is covered in patches and that the city endured more than 30 main breaks in a single month two summers ago when a water tower was taken down.
Funding for the project is scheduled to close on June 26. Localized construction is expected to begin in August, with heavy initial activity concentrated in the downtown area.
Officials warned that the extensive main replacements will cause widespread traffic and road disruptions over the coming year.
“It is going to tear the city up for the next year or so, but it’s good,” the Mayor said. “It’s called progress.”