ILLIOPOLIS - Come May 1, the village of Illiopolis, not Formosa Plastics Corp., will control the water flowing from each resident's tap.

The switch comes a month later than the village originally anticipated, said Mayor Allen Brickey. Formosa used to control Illiopolis' water supply; the plastics manufacturer needed large amounts of water for its operation.

But in the aftermath of last year's deadly explosion at the plant, the responsibility was handed back to the village.

In coming months, water lines beneath Formosa will be rerouted using grant money from the state. A state emergency fund already has materialized $100,000; another $100,000 from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is still in the pipeline, Brickey said.

The village hopes to automate some of the control work, he said. An employee may still have to take readings of the water every day and prepare a monthly report for the EPA.

Residents' rates should not be affected by the switch, but the village soon will have to decide how much to charge Formosa for water, Brickey said.

"When the explosion occurred almost a year ago, to be honest, that did not cross my mind at all," Brickey said about the water takeover. "When Formosa did inform us, I wasn't surprised by that decision."

With the plant out of operation, Formosa naturally stopped using large quantities of water, company spokesman Rob Thibault said. The decision doesn't indicate an unwillingness of the company to rebuild at the site.

"It was just an economic decision for us," he said.

Staff writer Tony Reid contributed to this story. Lead writer Amy Hoak can be reached at ahoak@;herald-review.com or 421-7972.