Gilbert's North Water Treatment Plant project costs go up 

By Tom Blodgett
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Twitter: @sp_blodgett

Construction inflation and market challenges are delaying the reconstruction and expansion of the Gilbert’s North Water Treatment Plant and driving its cost up, officials said. 

Project Manager Jeanne Jensen outlined what the project team has done to address those issues at the Gilbert town retreat Thursday, an annual meeting of council and staff that looks at important issues for the town to address in the coming year. 

The plant’s cost now projects to be $545 million and completion is anticipated for end of February 2026. The town broke ground on the project in March. Original cost projections were for $457 million in construction  

The plant, which treats water from the Salt River Project watershed and groundwater, serves about 150,000 people in town. It treats about 45 million gallons per day. At build-out, it expects to serve about 250,000 people, part of the reason the town believed it necessary to expand its treatment capacity to 60 million gallons per day. 

The additional capacity will also help the town with its resiliency plan as the region deals with water shortages along the Colorado River. 

Jensen reviewed how the town has reviewed its construction schedule and plans and then squeezed out further efficiencies in plans to save money and time. 

Jensen said paying for the additional costs in the project will involve shuffling and delaying some capital improvement projects and possibly looking at rates in the future. 

No formal action is taken at retreats and staff did not ask for additional direction from council on the item. 

Tom Blodgett
Senior News Editor | Gilbert
@sp_blodgett

tblodgett@iniusa.org

Meet Tom
Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.

Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.

Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism. 

Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.  

Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).