Water Reclamation Plants |
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In 1919, the Board of Commissioners passed an ordinance committing the District to the construction and operation of sewage treatment plants to protect and preserve Lake Michigan, our source of drinking water for six million people living in Chicago, Cook County communities, and neighboring counties today. The boundaries of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District include more than five million residents of Cook County. These people, plus the thousands of industries within the District, generate 1.4 billion gallons of wastewater each day. The District is divided into seven service areas. Each sends its wastewater to a different treatment plant through the sewer systems. These seven plants range in capacity from 1.2 billion gallons per day at the Stickney Plant, the world's largest, to 2.3 million gallons per day at the Lemont Plant. A wastewater processing facility usually contains two treatment plants. One is for processing the wastewater while the other is for treating the solids residue (sludge) captured during the first process. Approximately 494 billion gallons were treated at the District plants during 2018. These plants have been very successful in meeting the National Pollutant and Discharge Elimination System permit limits. These limits are designed to protect and enhance the quality of our waterways. The 2018 average plant flow, effluent values, and permit compliance for each plant are presented below in Table 1. Table 1 2018 Operating Data Summary
How does this compare with other facilities across the U.S.?
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