Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Wastewater topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Consultant warns Kewanee WWTP lagoon may be full within weeks; council hears $1 million sludge-press option
Summary
A Chamlin & Associates consultant told the Kewanee City Council the wastewater treatment lagoon could be full in about a month to six weeks, citing tighter IEPA rules that limit land spreading of sludge. Options discussed included hiring haulers or a roughly $1,000,000 sludge press; no formal funding decision was made.
Don Bixby of Chamlin & Associates told the Kewanee City Council on May 28 that the city’s wastewater treatment plant faces an urgent sludge-disposal problem.
"We have about a month to a month and a half left before the lagoon is full," Bixby said, describing tightening Illinois Environmental Protection Agency requirements that have reduced the availability of farmland for land-application of sludge.
Bixby presented short- and long-term options discussed with staff: contract haulers to remove sludge on an ongoing, annual basis; or installing an on-site sludge press and landfilling the dewatered solids. He estimated the press project at roughly $1,000,000 and outlined trade-offs between annual hauling costs and capital investment.
City Manager Bradley and council members pressed on possible funding paths and regulatory drivers. Council members discussed design options, potential sources for financing the press, and additional compliance concerns including chloride levels and an anticipated new state phosphorus limit that could affect operations.
No formal vote or funding authorization for capital work was recorded at the May 28 meeting; council took no final action on the WWTP report. City staff and consultants will return with cost estimates and options for council consideration at a future meeting.
