Illinois American Water Invests $1 Million to Upgrade Grand Boulevard Booster Station in Peoria

Illinois American Water’s Peoria District is investing approximately $1 million to upgrade the Grand Boulevard booster station in Peoria. The high service station ensures reliable water service to customers and adequate water pressure for fire protection.

Work is currently underway at the booster station to upgrade electrical equipment as well as install new motors and starters. The three high service pumps at the station will be rehabilitated to operate via variable frequency drive (VFD) motors which use energy-saving technology to vary the pumping output to match current demands, rather than one constant speed.

“This technology will save on energy use and cost, reducing our environmental footprint, while benefiting our operations and customers,” said Roger Goodson, senior manager of field operations and production for Illinois American Water’s Western Division.

Customers will also benefit from Illinois American Water applying for and receiving an Ameren Illinois rebate of $30,000 to help fund part of the project.

Goodson said, “We are always looking for ways to decrease costs and operate more efficiently. We know that for every dollar we save, we can invest $8 without impacting customer rates. It’s important to us to provide a high quality product at a good value.”

The booster station upgrade is not expected to impact water service. The project will be completed this fall.

About Illinois American Water - Illinois American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 1.3 million people. American Water also operates a customer service center in Alton and a quality control and research laboratory in Belleville.

With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly-traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 7,100 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to over 14 million people in 45 states and Ontario, Canada. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to make sure we keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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