PONTIAC — Pontiac’s wastewater treatment plant will undergo more than $50,000 worth of repairs and equipment upgrades.

The City Council voted Monday to spend $26,484 on repairs to influent wastewater pumps, the replacement of another pump and the purchase of a utility truck from Illinois American Water Co.

An additional $9,000 was going to be spent on repairs to a sludge press pump, but the council decided that it would be better to replace it rather to repair it. The cost to replace the pump is estimated at $26,000

“There are several pumps that need to be replaced that are over 20 years old,” said Pontiac Mayor Bob Russell. “We continuously on a yearly basis upgrade them, but tonight we decided to replace one in light of the circumstances.”

The council voted to send out requests for proposals for the project.

Dave Sullivan, director of the city’s wastewater treatment plant, said there is no backup for this pump, and it is vital for treating wastewater at the facility.

It is in bad shape and already was scheduled to be replaced by now as part of the city’s $6 million sewer rehabilitation project, he said. That money was to come from a loan by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, but the IEPA loan has yet to be allocated to the city, Russell said.

“It’s probably not going to last another eight months,” Sullivan said.

Hearing this, the council decided that it was better to replace the pump now rather than to repair it for temporary use. Russell said that the $26,000 should be made up from the pending IEPA loan.