Wood Dale to break ground on $23 million water treatment plant

Editor's note: This story was updated to change the date of the ground-breaking. The ceremony will be Tuesday.

Wood Dale is preparing for the most expensive capital project in the city's history.

Officials will break ground at 9 a.m. Tuesday for a nearly $23 million project to reconstruct and upgrade the city's wastewater treatment plant at 269 W. Irving Park Road.

City Manager Jeffrey Murmuys said the plant hasn't been upgraded since 1982 and the project is vital for Wood Dale to continue providing quality services to residents and comply with new federal and state regulations.

“The plant is 30 years old and things are starting to break down and there are changes coming down the pipeline from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois EPA,” Murmuys said.

Alderman Eugene Wesley said population growth also makes the upgrade critical.

Wood Dale officials and public works staff members have spent three years preparing for the project with the help of a feasibility study and design services by HR Green Inc., of McHenry.

Actual construction will be done in two phases, with the first taking a year and costing about $8.9 million. The work will be done by Volo-based Maxim Construction Corporation.

The second phase will cost about $14 million and should be finished by late summer or early fall 2014, Murmuys said.

“The project is a little more difficult and must be done in two phases because we have to keep the plant (running) and yet retrofit the same building,” he said.

Part of the upgrade will include improving the aesthetics of the plant by adding more landscaping.

The city borrowed money last month to pay for the first phase of the work. Murmuys said city officials hope to secure federal and state grants for the second phase, as well as a revolving loan program through the Illinois EPA that provides low interest rates.

“The city has been thinking about this for quite some time,” Murmuys said. “We know it costs a lot of money and we take it seriously, but we need to provide essential services for our residents.”

The groundbreaking will be open to the public and include information pamphlets about the project. For details, call Cristina Petitti at (630) 787-3711.