08/14/2026
From the Mayor’s Desk:
Fellow Carterville residents, what a day we have had here in Carterville. Unfortunately, Carterville experienced an unscheduled water outage due to an 8” main break on Walnut Street. This is the second system wide outage we have experienced in four days and the fourth break we have suffered within six days. It may not provide any comfort in knowing this series of events started with another utility company inadvertently hitting our lines. It may also not provide comfort to know the City was not notified of this early morning issue due to failure of telemetry monitors to alert the appropriate people. This lack of early notification allowed the water tower to drain and caused the system wide outage.
Two of these breaks occurred on Ridge Street, one on Sunday and another on Monday. Both of these areas on Ridge Street were only 20 feet away from where the City had just replaced 600 feet of 10” water main this spring. This affected area already had plans in place for its replacement as well.
Carterville has spent over $8 million dollars on water system improvements in the last two and a half years. Those efforts are continuous and focus on increasing storage capacity and replacing aged cast iron lines. The new 10” water main running from Howerton Street north to the Fire Department is two weeks away from being in service. The new 750,000 gallon water tower is structurally complete and having the telemetry and altitude valve installed now. It is also expected to be in service before the end of this month. Additionally, a new 400,000 gallon ground storage tank is complete and in service.
We have also installed multiple valves throughout the system to help facilitate isolating streets and neighborhoods during water emergencies. Cast iron mains have also been replaced in sections through town, prioritized by size, condition, and location.
Please keep in mind, these improvements have been accomplished without increasing your water bill. The Carterville Water & Sewer Board will make annual adjustments to the water bills based on the percentage of increase the City receives from its water supplier, Rend Lake Water Conservancy District. For example, Rend Lake Water increased their supply rate this year by 5%. In turn, the Water & Sewer Board increased the water rates by 5%. This responsible rate maintenance prevents large spikes in scattered intervals and continues to fund operations and improvements.
Another comment I have frequently heard is in reference to property taxes and the amount paid versus the condition of the water system. The Carterville Water & Sewer Department operates as a municipal utility, meaning they are funded only from the water and sewer charges. Your property taxes do not go to the Water & Sewer Department…separate accounts and books. FYI, only about 9% of your property tax bill even goes to the City of Carterville (again, zero goes to water & sewer).
I hope these details have been helpful in understanding what we are dealing with, what we are doing, and what we plan to do. If any resident or customer has a question, please feel free to reach out to the Mayor’s Office by email or phone. I am always happy to explain the situation and hear your perspectives. My only ask is that you please refrain from yelling, berating, and swearing at the staff of City Hall or the Water & Sewer Department. I can assure you the men and women that are answering the phones and greeting you at the counter are not responsible for the outages and DO NOT deserve to be treated rudely and abrasively. If you must vent by yelling and swearing, save it for me. As the Mayor, I voluntarily signed up for this job and it is my responsibility to take the harsh criticism.
I would like to extend my apologies to the residents, businesses, and customers of Carterville Water. I understand the inconvenience, frustrations, and issues caused by these untimely interruptions in service. Please know myself, board members, engineers, and staff are working very hard to limit these instances and to continue making improvements to your system.
Now, I want to extend my sincere gratitude to many people. First, to the personnel that worked on the main breaks in great duress, in terrible temperatures and humidity. I know and appreciate the struggles presented to you and how you ALWAYS rise to the occasion and get things back in service. Next, to the staff at the office who are often treated in ways that are not pleasant but are ALWAYS professional. And lastly, to the people who chose to call me or stop by in-person to ask me a question about the situation, share their concerns, and listen to the factors and details. I appreciate everyone who reaches out directly versus those that choose social media venues that focus on anger, innuendo, and misinformation.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and learn some of the actions being taken in the background to improve our municipal water system.
Sincerely,
Mayor Robinson
