By: Kylen Mills
kmills@cbs4qc.com
Davenport City Council is scheduled to vote tonight on whether to approve a huge sewer project.
"A lot of old infrastructure a lot of past practices had us spending our money elsewhere instead of preparing some of these old sewers and storm lines and we're doing that," said Davenport Alderman Bill Boom.
City leaders say the old sewers can't handle heavy rains and get backed up.
The worry is that the sewer systems are then dumping too much waste into the Mississippi.
The Iowa DNR and EPA are working with Davenport, Bettendorf, Riverdale and Panorama Park to fix this issue. All these sewer systems are connected.
The project requires several different actions, and it could take up to 20 years and $220 million.
Davenport city leaders say they should reach a decision tonight, but all the cities need to approve before they can move forward with the plan. They also tell us there are still a lot of questions about how the work will be done, and how it will be funded.
Davenport city leaders say if they don't agree to the plan at some point they could be fined, which could come out of taxpayer's pockets.
City Council meets Wednesday night at 5:30PM at city hall.
