Water Department

The City of Monticello Water Plant first went into operation in the late 1800s at the current location. 

The City of Monticello Water plant is a groundwater plant with 4 wells drilled into the Mahomet River Valley aquifer. The oldest well was drilled in 1915 and is still in operation today. The entire City of Monticello is supplied with filtered and softened water, which has been blended. 

The Monticello Water plant is currently rated at supplying 1,000,000 gallons per day. The average number of gallons of water pumped per day in 2012 was 541,000. The total amount of finished water in storage is 1,400,000 gallons. There is a 750,000-gallon finished water holding tank and the remainder 650,000 gallons are stored in 2 water towers ready for use by MCUS customers.

The City of Monticello Water Department currently maintains approximately 310 fire hydrants along with about 35 miles of water mains. Approximately 3 blocks of older water mains are replaced with new infrastructure annually. 

The City of Monticello Water Department has received the Fluoride Award for multiple years, which is issued for maintaining a fluoride result within a specific range set by the Illinois Department of Public Health for each month of the year.

The Monticello Water Department has three Class A Water Plant Operators. The Class A license is the highest water license that can be obtained in the State of Illinois. The operators of the City of Monticello Water Department strive to keep our water safe and high quality, with no Violations and complete EPA compliance.

The City of Monticello is very proud of Scott Bailey, the City of Monticello's Water Department Leadman, for receiving the Illinois Water Supply Operator's Association Plant Operator of the Year award by the Illinois Potable Water Operators Association.