Illinois American buys out metro-east wastewater system for $3M

The city of Madison is the latest metro-east community to sell its wastewater system to Illinois American Water.

The publicly-traded firm acquired the small town’s wastewater system for $3 million, the company announced. The sale will add roughly 1,500 customers to Illinois American’s network in the St. Louis area.

In a public notice, the city said the current monthly charge for wastewater treatment customers using 3,500 gallons of water per month is approximately $67. After the sale, the average wastewater charge for customers using 3,500 gallons will be approximately $76.

Illinois American has $9.1 million in investments planned for Madison’s wastewater over the next five years, including upgrades to the collections systems, lift station and the controls and security of the system.

“We have provided water service in Madison and the metro-east for more than 125 years and continue to expand our footprint in wastewater services in the state,” Illinois American President Rebecca Losli said in a statement Tuesday. “We are well positioned to leverage our resources and expertise to address both their water and wastewater needs for years to come.”

The Illinois Commerce Commission approved the sale on Sept. 18.

Madison joins several Metro East communities that have opted to sell drinking water or wastewater systems to Illinois American in recent years. For example, 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, the company had added more than 85,000 drinking and wastewater customers in the Metro East since 2013.

American Water has drawn criticism for passing on the costs of infrastructure upgrades onto its customers, prompting some local towns to push back. The sale in Madison comes at a time when many municipal governments have struggled to keep up the cost of maintaining drinking and wastewater systems.