Huntley may spend $2.7 million to upgrade wastewater treatment plants

Huntley officials are considering more than $2.7 million in upgrades to two village wastewater treatment plants.

The village must make roughly $1.6 million of those upgrades at its East Wastewater Treatment Facility to comply with a new Illinois Environmental Protection Agency mandate for acceptable phosphorous discharge levels.

Huntley has until Nov. 30, 2018, to come into compliance with the new 1 milligram per liter threshold set by the EPA, Village Engineer Tim Farrell said.

"Nutrient standards are sort of evolving in Illinois," Farrell said.

The compliance issue was identified when the village applied to renew its permit with the state EPA last May.

The agency now is requiring the new phosphorous standard be applied statewide for all new permits issued and renewals for major sewage treatment plants processing 1 million gallons or more of wastewater per day, Farrell said.

Huntley's West Wastewater Treatment Facility already maintains a phosphorous discharge standard of 1 milligram per liter, but that plant also needs more than $1.1 million in upgrades to lower the cost of treating the water for phosphorous, Farrell said.

Instead of using chemical additives, officials want to switch to biological nutrient removal.

"For the long run, it's better to make process changes," Farrell said. "It doesn't mean that we won't be adding the chemicals. What we are trying to promote is the correct biological activity that accumulates the phosphorous in the water."

Once the phosphorous accumulates and settles into a more solid substance, the sludge then is reduced to a mudlike consistency. It is held in storage during winter months and then hauled out to agricultural fields every April and October.

The Huntley village board Thursday night authorized an $184,000 contract with Engineering Enterprises, Inc., for engineering services on both projects. Yet, it's unclear where the village will get the money to fund the improvements.

"That's what we call an unfunded mandate," Farrell said. "They are just putting this on communities statewide and communities are going to have to find a way to fund it. Right now, we have cash on hand to fund the engineering. Next year, we will bid the project and figure out what the actual cost is. By then, we will have to figure out a funding source for these projects."

The upgrades will take a year to complete, so construction should begin by early summer of 2017, he added.