Nearly $4M from state aids Lake Lillian, Minnesota, infrastructure needs

Tom Cherveny, West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minn.
·2 min read

Jul. 15—LAKE LILLIAN

— A total of $3.99 million in newly awarded funding from the Minnesota Legislature will help Lake Lillian continue to address its remaining $15 million in infrastructure needs.

Bollig Engineering, with an office in Willmar, has been working with the city of

Lake Lillian

to address its needs to upgrade its water and sanitary and storm sewer systems.

The firm announced recently that the Legislature has included $3.99 million in funding for the Kandiyohi County community in the recent session's capital investment bills. Support from local legislators Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Acton Township, and Sen. Andrew Lang, R-Olivia, helped make the funding possible.

The city is in the midst of a multi-phase project to address its needs. The city is preparing to start construction on a new water treatment plant this fall, according to Laura Ostlie, funding program manager with

Bollig Engineering

. That project should wrap up in late 2024, which will allow the city to focus on the other needs and utilize the bonding funds for that, she explained.

Arsenic in the city's water supply is three times the allowed limit, Mayor Wendy Lund and Brian Bollig, of Bollig Engineering, told members of the State Senate's Capital Investment Committee during a tour of the community in late October 2021. The city also has elevated levels of ammonia and organic carbon.

The new water treatment plant will use a biological treatment process to address the problems.

The city also has what's termed legacy arsenic, or arsenic which has built up in layers in the system's distribution system.

According to information presented to the Senate committee during its visit two years ago, the city had previously obtained funding for a $1 million sanitary sewer lift station project and $3.6 million in sewer and work improvements, leaving $15.4 million in needs.

There are 144 service connections in the community of fewer than 300 people in southern Kandiyohi County.

The community is celebrating its centennial this year.