“National green infrastructure training program certifies more than 200 individuals for jobs,” Water World
The Water Environment Federation (WEF) and DC Water announced that 106 individuals recently completed training and testing requirements for certification in construction, inspection, and maintenance of green infrastructure (GI), a fast-growing approach to reduce stormwater pollution. Over the past two years of the program, more than 200 individuals have now earned certifications under the National Green Infrastructure Certification Program (NGICP). Cities adding to their GI certified workforce this round include Baltimore, Md., Cincinnati, Oh., Fairfax, Va., Harrisburg, Pa., Kansas City, Mo., Milwaukee, Wis., Montgomery County, Md., Pittsburgh, Pa., and Washington, D.C. The certification promotes a skilled green infrastructure workforce, streamlines the process of connecting qualified talent to in-demand jobs, supports community-based job creation in U.S. cities, and establishes national standards for professionals seeking to work on green infrastructure projects. By verifying a professional's competency in and understanding of green infrastructure, certification increases their competitiveness in the job market. WEF plans to add more certification trainings and exams in 2018 to continue to grow the community of certified professionals. The NGICP was developed in partnership with DC Water and is housed under WEF's Stormwater Institute, a center for excellence and innovation focused on stormwater runoff and wet weather issues. With the support of 14 additional partner utilities, the program is readying for a national roll-out. "Green infrastructure has become a best management practice of choice for many communities around the country, and proper maintenance is an ongoing concern," said Sandra Ralston, chair of the Stormwater Institute Advisory Committee. "By cultivating a proficient green workforce, NGICP insures that green infrastructure continues to be an acceptable and viable stormwater management option." Current NGICP partner organizations include the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (Mass.), Capital Region Water (Pa.), City of Baltimore Department of Public Works (Md.), Fairfax County (Va.), Kansas City Water Services Department (Mo.), Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District (Ky.), Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (Ohio), Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (Ill.), Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (Wis.), Montgomery County (Md.), New Orleans Delegation (La.), New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (Pa.), and San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (Calif.).
http://www.waterworld.com/articles/2017/12/national-green-infrastructure-training-program-certifies-more-than-200-individuals-for-jobs.html

“Commissioner Visits Wadsworth’s FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge Competition,” The Chicago Crusader

Commissioner Kari K. Steele (center) holds the t-shirt Wadsworth STEM School Algebra Team students wear at STEM competitions.

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Commissioner Kari K. Steele recently visited James Wadsworth Elementary School, 6650 South Ellis Avenue, to lend support and encourage Wadsworth’s efforts in the FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge Team Competition.  The competition is a collaboration between FIRST® (For Inspiration & Recognition of Science & Technology) and LEGO® Education. The Wadsworth FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge Team, of five Science class students, entered the HYDRO DYNAMICS Challenge and successfully made it through the first round of competition to attend the Illinois Championship events to be held on January 13, 14 and 27, 2018 at Elgin Community College and the University of Illinois. The competition is designed for students ages 9-16 and included students from 80 countries. The challenge for the competing students is to improve the way people find, transport, use or dispose of water.

A Wadsworth classroom has a discussion with Commissioner Kari K. Steele.

Prior to the competition, Commissioner Steele was invited as a Subject Matter Expert to visit the Wadsworth FIRST® LEGO® League Science class team. During her visit she provided information about the many services provided by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) of Greater Chicago. Commissioner Steele provided the students and teachers with informational brochures about Healthy Waterways, Drug-Free Drains, Too Cute to Pollute, It’s a Toilet…Not a Trashcan, Understanding Your Sewer, Overflow Action Days, Chicago Area Waterway System, and Tunnel and Reservoir Plan and more. The Wadsworth students provided Commissioner Steele with a pre-competition demonstration of their Robot Game entry and the many, water related, goals the Robot had to accomplish to garner the maximum points during the competition. Women are still under-represented in various fields, including Science, where the glass ceiling is still a reality. Nowadays, barely 28 percent of researchers are women. “As a chemist and environmentalist in my first term on the MWRD Board, I continue to work tirelessly to promote careers in STEM related fields for women, minorities and youth, as well as remain a strong advocate for keeping our environment safe and clean,” said Commissioner Steele. During Commissioner Steele’s visit at James Wadsworth STEM Elementary School she also shared insightful information about her more than 11 years of experience working as a chemist. She has worked at the Jardine Water Purification Plant (as a water chemist), MWRD (as a water sampler and lab technician) and L’Oréal (as a Formulating Chemist, formulating or creating various hair care products).
https://chicagocrusader.com/commissioner-visits-wadsworths-first-lego-league-challenge-competition/

“Recycle Christmas tree, get free mulch in Chicago,” ABC 7 Chicago
Summary: If you're getting a head start on taking down holiday decorations, don't throw away your Christmas tree. You can recycle it for free with the city of Chicago. From Jan. 6 - Jan. 20, live trees can be dropped off at 25 participating Chicago Park District locations across the city. People can also take home free mulch, but only at six locations. Last year, more than 2,100 trees were mulched and reused by the park district and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.
http://abc7chicago.com/community-events/recycle-christmas-tree-get-free-mulch-in-chicago/2833489/

“New Illinois Laws 2018: Ethics, Transparency, Local Government
Review the new laws that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2018,” Chicago Patch
Summary: Several new laws take effect come Jan. 1, 2018, including an amendment to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Act (HB 659): Allows the sanitary district to participate in any available nutrient trading program in the state for meeting quality standards.
https://patch.com/illinois/chicago/new-illinois-laws-2018-ethics-transparency-local-government

“New Illinois laws take effect Jan. 1,” The Amboy News.
Summary: Over the past year, Illinois elected representatives passed 215 new laws, which will take effect on Jan. 1. Among them is a new law to reduce water pollution through a nutrient trading program (Public Act 100-341, House Bill 659), which authorizes the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) to participate in nutrient trading programs in Illinois. The program will develop new strategies to reduce nutrients that harm waterways. It requires that MWRD give preference to trading investments that benefit low income or rural communities, and where local water quality improvements can be achieved.
https://amboynews.com/article/new-illinois-laws-take-effect-jan-1

“National green infrastructure training program certifies more than 200 individuals for jobs,” WaterWorld
Summary: The Water Environment Federation (WEF) and DC Water announced that 106 individuals recently completed training and testing requirements for certification in construction, inspection, and maintenance of green infrastructure (GI), a fast-growing approach to reduce stormwater pollution. Over the past two years of the program, more than 200 individuals have now earned certifications under the National Green Infrastructure Certification Program (NGICP). Current NGICP partner organizations include the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago among other participating utilities.
http://www.waterworld.com/articles/2017/12/national-green-infrastructure-training-program-certifies-more-than-200-individuals-for-jobs.html

“To Embrace Digital, Water Needs to Tackle Fundamentals,” Automation World
David St. Pierre, with a background in process control, moved from oil refineries to water utilities in 1986. The difference was night and day. More than 30 years later, he still sees a need for the water industry to understand the basics.

David St. Pierre presents a keynote address at a water digitalization workshop in Chicago.

In the early days of David St. Pierre’s career in process control, he had plenty of exposure to old pneumatic systems and single-loop controllers—by the late 1970s in oil refining, there were banks and banks of single-loop controllers. Not unlike what control software does today in a digital format, those controllers had to be precise. “You want it to work,” St. Pierre says. “If it fails, you blow up the town.” But since moving over to water in 1986, St. Pierre has been amazed at what is lacking in the automation of the industry. “The difference between making gasoline and controlling water is night and day. It was like taking a step back in time,” he said. Part of the reason for the difference, he contends, is that water is inherently less dangerous than oil and gas. “Water isn’t going to blow up the town. There’s just not this real urgency to get it right.” The automation advances that had taken place in the oil and gas industry were missing in water. Now, as executive director of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC) and vice president of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), St. Pierre sees obstacles in three main areas as the water industry tries to make its way into the digital world: automation, system health and labor. “We have to figure out how to implement true automation in water,” St. Pierre urged industry professionals last month. He was keynoting a day-long workshop in Chicago called Modernizing North American Water Systems in the Digital Age. “In each city that I go into, they really aren’t applying normal control strategies, which have been tried and true for ages. I see programmers that are starting from scratch on a blank sheet of paper, trying to recreate control systems that already exist in the systems that they’re buying.” The water industry needs to get past the idea that it has to do things differently than other industries, and instead embrace just automation fundamentals. “We think we’re unique. It’s simply not true,” St. Pierre said. “We need just simple process control implementation—using the physics that you understand and applying it to a system. We need to get to the fundamentals. We need to apply the tried and true.” The second set of obstacles come in the area of system health. Though water utilities have a network of systems that should be able to point to problems like lost water pressure in a fire hydrant, for example, the information isn’t getting where it needs to go. In a water system in St. Louis, St. Pierre encountered a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) that was so complicated, it was of little use. “We must’ve had 50 different codes to tell you what we were doing out in the field,” he recalled. “All you had was garbage going in and garbage coming out. There was no way you were going to utilize that system for information management.” “We think we’re unique. It’s simply not true. We need just simple process control implementation—using the physics that you understand and applying it to a system. We need to get to the fundamentals. We need to apply the tried and true.” They set about figuring out what information was truly valuable. “I have to get good information out so it means something to me and helps me advance forward,” St. Pierre said. “We decided we needed three resolution codes instead of 50.” Labor management is a huge aspect of keeping water utilities running efficiently that needs to be brought under control, St. Pierre also said. “Almost 70 percent of what I spend a year is labor,” he said. “Do you think it’s kind of important to figure how to manage that labor and get value out of that labor? It probably is.” Using St. Louis as an example again, St. Pierre referenced the pump station group, made up primarily of mechanics and instrumentation folks. “The mechanics had never worked on a pump,” he explained. “Instead, what were we doing? We were hauling out failed pumps—failures upon failures. It was a very expensive way to do business. If you drove your car that way, you wouldn’t want a car. It’s not really asset management.” So he sent the mechanics to pump school. Many water utilities simply need to implement basic asset management, St. Pierre insisted. “The equipment we have in water is pretty simple equipment. It’s nothing unique—it’s compressors and blowers and pumps. They should have a standard timeframe reference,” he said. Utilizing predictive sensors correctly would also go a long way, he added. “There is such a need in water for the fundamentals. Once you get those fundamentals down, you can start becoming the excellent agencies that we want to be,” St. Pierre concluded. “If we want to accelerate the advancement of digitalization in water, it’s really all about getting the fundamentals right.”
https://www.automationworld.com/embrace-digital-water-needs-tackle-fundamentals

“Video: McCook Reservoir Stage I completion celebration,” Storm Water Solutions
SWS editors attended the McCook Reservoir Stage I completion celebration. Watch video coverage and interviews from the event at their website.
https://www.estormwater.com/videos/mccook-reservoir-stage-1/5687293626001

“A Michigan Plant Works to Prove a Simple, Low-Cost Formula for Producing Class A Biosolids,” Treatment Plant Operator Magazine
Summary: A plant team in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula looks to win Class A biocom/solids designation by validating a production process with scientific proof. There are various ways to produce Class A biosolids. Mark Bowman wants to prove to the Environmental Protection Agency that his preferred method is both cost-effective and scientifically reliable. Bowman, plant manager at the Gogebic-Iron Wastewater Treatment Facility in Ironwood, Michigan, faces challenges with the Class B cake his team now applies to cropland. One is dealing with regulations that require application at agronomic rates. Another is the climate — long winters and a short growing season mean a small window for distribution. There’s also a shortage of farms in the area, many with soils already high in phosphorus where biosolids can’t be added. Bowman reasons that creating a value-added Class A product desired by residents would remove administrative and financial burdens and help set his district up for a brighter future. The method he has in mind is used at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. The problem: The Gogebic-Iron Wastewater Authority can’t afford the extensive and costly pathogen testing Chicago performs as part of the method to win site-specific Class A approval from the EPA.
http://www.tpomag.com/editorial/2018/01/a_michigan_plant_works_to_prove_a_simple_low_cost_formula_for_producing_cla

Chicago Area Reservoir to Save Estimated $114M in Flood and Pollution Reduction,’ Water World

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last week celebrated the completion of the first phase of the McCook Reservoir project, a key component of MWRD's plan to reduce flood damage and sewer overflow pollution in the Chicago area. Black & Veatch has provided planning, design, engineering and construction support on various aspects of MWRD's Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) since 2001, including design and construction services for the McCook Main Tunnel System (MTS) that connects TARP's Mainstream Tunnel to the McCook Reservoir. McCook Reservoir Stage I provides an additional 3.5 billion gallons of storage capacity to capture flood water and combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and is estimated to provide $114 million annually in flood damage and CSO pollution reduction benefits. TARP reduces flooding by storing CSOs, which during wet weather events would otherwise flow into and pollute Lake Michigan and the region's waterways, until they are able to be treated. As a result, regional water quality is also enhanced. "The McCook Reservoir will alleviate flooding impacts for millions of residents in the region," said Mariyana Spyropoulos, President of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board of Commissioners. "We are excited to celebrate the completion of the first phase, and look forward to continuing to bolster our flood mitigation efforts that support the local community with our project partners." With McCook Stage I on line, the TARP system now has a flood storage capacity of more than 14 billion gallons. "The McCook Reservoir is one of the final components of TARP, one of the largest public works projects for pollution and flood control," said Faruk Oksuz, Black & Veatch Vice President and project director in the company's water business. "It is the result of tremendous collaboration in support of an overarching goal to protect the environment. Including the McCook Reservoir and MTS, this project has helped restore the charm and quality of Chicago's rivers and fostered greater connectivity to water resources for millions of people." "From planning to construction, state-of-the-art practices such as deep rock grouting and one-of-a-kind high pressure roller gates for tunnels were applied throughout the project," said Greg Clum, President, Black & Veatch Federal Business. "The McCook Reservoir will protect Lake Michigan, the region's water supply and the regional economy tied to Lake Michigan as well." In addition to 109 miles of deep tunnel systems and McCook Reservoir, TARP includes two other storage reservoirs -- Majewski (350 million gallons) and the Thornton Composite Reservoir (7.9 billion gallons). When Stage II of McCook is fully completed in 2029, it will have a capacity of 10 billion gallons and surpass Thornton as the largest reservoir of its kind in the world. When McCook Reservoir Stage II is completed, the reservoir will deliver an estimated total of $143 million per year in flood reduction benefits and will bring TARP's total capacity to more than 20.5 billion gallons of flood protection and combined sewer overflow storage. The MTS is a more than 1,600-foot-long, 33-foot-diameter tunnel that includes connections, gates, access shafts and energy dissipation structures. Black & Veatch has supported multiple components of TARP with both the MWRD and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, including design and construction support services for the Thornton Composite Reservoir, Thorn Creek Connection Tunnel, and the McCook Reservoir Main Tunnel and Des Plaines Inflow Tunnel, both of which connect to the McCook Reservoir. http://www.waterworld.com/articles/2017/12/chicago-area-reservoir-to-save-estimated-114m-in-flood-and-pollution-reduction.html

“Army Corps to restore Lockport prairie,” Daily Journal (Kankakee, IL)

A great blue heron at Lockport Prairie. Glenn P. Knoblock photo

Summary: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be spending millions of dollars in the next couple of years to remove invasive species, encourage native plant growth and replenish the underground water source for a patch of extremely rare habitat in Lockport Prairie Nature Preserve. Lockport Prairie features wet and wet-mesic dolomite prairie, which are among the most critically imperiled natural communities on Earth. More than half of the high-quality wet dolomite prairie in the world is located at the preserve, which is home to endangered and threatened species. The Army Corps project falls under Section 206 of the Water Resources Development Act, which protects aquatic resources in the United States. The project's goal is to restore the natural habitat and critical groundwater relationship between the Forest Preserve's Prairie Bluff Preserve in Crest Hill and Lockport Prairie in Lockport Township. As groundwater from Prairie Bluff moves slowly toward the Des Plaines River, it flows into Lockport Prairie, where it seeps from a bluff or percolates above ground, creating habitat for a diversity of plants and creatures. Bids for the projects will be opened Tuesday. Restoration work could begin this winter, and it will span an estimated five years.  The project will total $2.5 million initially, but there could be additional appropriations in the coming years to fund more restoration options at Prairie Bluff. "The Forest Preserve and Army Corps of Engineers have been working together for over a decade to develop a strategy to preserve and enhance Lockport Prairie," said Ralph Schultz, the Forest Preserve District's chief operating officer. "We're excited this project is moving into its next phase with a significant investment by the Corps in preserving the future of one of Will County's natural wonders." Initial work will involve invasive species removal at Lockport Prairie and implementation of erosion control measures. If future options are funded, work also will be done to disable agricultural drain tiles that currently disrupt the natural flow of groundwater at Prairie Bluff. After managing the site for nearly three decades under a lease agreement, the Forest Preserve acquired Lockport Prairie from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago in 2011.
http://www.daily-journal.com/sports/outdoors/army-corps-to-restore-lockport-prairie/article_85817768-15e4-5574-9f63-11b9ba27199c.html

MWRD prepares to deposit up to $4 million in ISF; Vice President Barbara McGowan celebrates ISF Bank’s efforts to help drive economic development,” Chicago Crusader

(L TO R) MWRD EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR David St. Pierre, Vice President Barbara McGowan, ISF Bank Director Francis Baffour, ISF CEO Robert Klamp and Senior Loan Officer Brent Connell.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has historically taken steps to preserve and encourage minority ownership of insured financial institutions. These institutions often promote the economic viability of minority and under-served communities, and Illinois Service Federal Savings & Loan (ISF Bank) in Chicago is one such bank.

DR. PAPA KWESI NDUOM, ISF Bank Chairman, and MWRD Vice President Barbara McGowan at the ISF Bank customer appreciation celebration on Nov. 15.

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) Vice President Barbara McGowan recently joined ISF Bank in celebrating its customers during a special appreciation dinner held November 15 at the Parkway Ballroom in Chicago. “I believe it is important to support any financial institution that preserves the number of minority depositories and provides training, technical assistance and educational programs,” said Vice President McGowan. “ISF Bank is just one of the few Black-owned banks in the country, and it is an institution that is rich in history and woven in the fabric of our community.” ISF Bank was founded in Chicago in 1934 to help give the Black community better access to credit. In 2000, ISF Bank opened a state-of-the-art facility at 8700 S. King Drive. In combination with the main branch at 4619 S. King Drive, ISF serves over 14,000 customers and has assets of more than $133 million dollars. Because of its solid financial footing, the MWRD created an account and deposited $2.5 million in 2017 and plans to deposit up to $1.5 million more next year. In fact, the MWRD currently has $250 million on deposit in various banks throughout Cook County. “The MWRD strives to deposit taxpayer money in community banks throughout Cook County to achieve a return on investment,” said Vice President McGowan. “Simultaneously, it is our hope that the deposits help these banks drive economic development in local neighborhoods and provide loans to individuals and small businesses in the community.”
https://chicagocrusader.com/mwrd-prepares-to-deposit-up-to-4-million-in-isf/

“Greening worship,” Metropolitan Planning Council
Why faith communities and rain gardens make an unlikely—and perfect—pair

Rev. Luther Mason leads church members at Greenstone United Methodist Church in Chicago in a dedication service for their rain garden. Water is one of life’s most essential and precious resources. It is both abundantly useful and beneficial, but under certain circumstances, can serve as a detriment to communities. No matter where you live in Illinois, water issues impact you. (Ramont Bell)

Summary: People living in Chicago are familiar with the problem of basement flooding and sewer backups resulting from the sewer system being overwhelmed with stormwater runoff during rain events and spring snowmelt. Flooding can be an embarrassing issue that people don’t want to talk about.  It’s also an equity issue since areas that experience some of the most significant flooding happen in communities that lack resources, and can least afford to address the problem financially. Fortunately, there are actions that can be taken.  In 2014, sustainability consultant Ed Strom approached Faith in Place to collaborate on a proposal for the Chi-Cal Rivers Fund to install and distribute rain gardens and rain barrels. Houses of worship are unique institutions for this purpose—they often have land that can be landscaped to better absorb rain water. They also serve as gathering places where educational events for the wider community can be held. The idea was to leverage the organization's network of faith communities to deploy green infrastructure, such as rain gardens and rain barrels, in neighborhoods negatively impacted by flooding. The Chi-Cal Rivers Fund is “a public-private partnership working to restore the health, vitality and accessibility of the waterways in the Chicago and Calumet region by supporting green storm water infrastructure, habitat enhancement, and public-use improvements.” Rain gardens are ditch-like structures that are dug into the ground.  The garden collects rain water runoff from urban structures like roofs and driveways. This allows the water to soak into earth as opposed to running into homes and sewers, causing flooding and sewage back up.

High Bridge volunteer Tonarreo King and a Greenstone United Methodist Church volunteer get ready to give away 100 free rain barrels to neighbors at Greenstone United Methodist Church in July 2016. (Ramont Bell)

Rain barrels also provide a similar purpose. The rain water collected can be used as necessary—to water plants, wash cars, etc.  Faith in Place Outreach Coordinator, Ramont Bell, and the Calumet Stormwater Collaborative (facilitated by the Metropolitan Planning Coalition) collaborated to prepare a proposal for the fund. In 2015 the grant was approved for $250,000.  The funds were able to be put to use by 2016. The project was truly a community effort, enriched by collaboration with multiple partners who are actively involved in the Calumet Stormwater Collaborative: The Center for Neighborhood Technology [CNT] conducted research and put together a manual that was then used to determine which areas experienced the most flooding as to determine where resources would be allocated. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) assisted with community outreach, providing rain barrels and education. High Bridge, a landscape design, installation and maintenance firm, helped create a design for the rain gardens that were to be installed at five houses of worship. During the summer of 2016, rain barrels were distributed to community members in the neighborhoods surrounding nine houses of worship: Greenstone United Methodist Church, New Mission Temple Church of God in Christ, New Life Church Southeast, Advocate United Church of Christ, St. Bride Roman Catholic, Our Lady of the Snows Parish, Trinity United Church of Christ, Holy Name of Mary, and Covenant United Church of Christ. Rain gardens were planted at five of these houses of worship where there was sufficient land to absorb runoff rain water.  In total, the rain barrels distributed and rain gardens planted have collectively redirected an estimated 2,642,149 gallons of stormwater runoff.
Faith in Place is a non-profit organization whose mission is to empower Illinois people of all faiths to be leaders in caring for the Earth, providing resources to educate, connect, and advocate for healthier communities.
http://www.metroplanning.org/news/8516/Greening-worship

“Charles Thangaraj receives Accelerator Stewardship grant for water treatment project,” Fermilab

Charles Thangaraj holds a model of the compact accelerator he recently received a grant to develop. Photo: Reidar Hahn

Summary: Fermilab scientist Jayakar ‘Charles’ Thangaraj has been awarded $200,000 from the Accelerator Stewardship Program of the U.S. Department of Energy to develop the design of a new, compact high-power accelerator. Collaborators are conceptualizing the potential use of this electron accelerator, based on superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) technology, in treating municipal biosolids and wastewater in collaboration with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) of Greater Chicago. The grant builds on the previous work conducted by a team at the Illinois Accelerator Research Center (IARC) at Fermilab, specifically the work to design a one-megawatt electron accelerator – toward the top end of typical industrial electron accelerator power. The results of simulations from that initial effort were encouraging enough that the IARC team proposed an accelerator system with a truly revolutionary 10-megawatt power output. Municipal biosolids produced at MWRD are generated through processes to remove larger, suspended solids from the water and organic pollutants, as well as to physically or chemically kill pathogens. In the Chicago area, treated water is then allowed to flow into local waterways without risk of harming the ecosystem. The byproducts from the water reclamation process are further treated to recover nutrients and energy and converted into a final product as biosolids that are beneficially used as a soil amendment. With an electron accelerator, the flowing water is exposed to a beam of highly energetic electrons, which create radicals in the solution that can disrupt chemical bonds. This will help kill pathogens in the water and the biosolids and increase the efficiency of recovering energy and nutrients from the biosolids. This electron beam treatment technique has a few advantages. Because the treatment technique is physical and involves only a burst of electrons, the need for possibly harmful additional chemicals can be eliminated. Additionally, the technique can destroy organic contamination and pharmaceuticals that might otherwise survive conventional treatment. While chemical and biological treatment processes require carefully controlled conditions and target specific contaminants, electron beam treatment is broadly effective and requires only an electricity supply to run. The treatment process is also rapid, able to handle chemical and biological hazards simultaneously. “IARC’s compact SRF accelerator is a pioneer in the industrial accelerator space,” Thangaraj said.

New innovations

SRF accelerators, including those currently used at Fermilab, rely on being cooled down to around 2 Kelvin, colder than the 2.7 Kelvin (minus 270.5 degrees Celsius) of outer space. The components need to operate at cold temperatures to be able to superconduct: the ‘S’ in SRF. The typical way to do this is by immersing the cavities in liquid helium and pumping on the helium to lower its pressure. However, producing and maintaining subatmospheric liquid helium requires complex cryogenic plants – a factor that severely limits the portability and therefore the potential applications of SRF accelerators in industrial environments. “We are able to do away with liquid helium through a combination of recent advancements in superconducting surface science and cryogenics technology. This allows us to operate at a higher superconducting temperature in our cavities and cool them in a novel way,” said Thangaraj, who was also awarded $1.47 million to develop this crucial Fermilab-patented technology from the Laboratory Directed Research Development program. “Breaking the need for a supply of liquid helium makes the accelerator very attractive for installation within MWRD’s existing infrastructure,” he said. Though such real-life solutions are exciting and promising, the reality remains a few years away. Nevertheless, IARC has already started talking to several stakeholders in the industry.
http://news.fnal.gov/2017/11/charles-thangaraj-receives-accelerator-stewardship-grant-for-wastewater-treatment-project/

“McCook Reservoir to open soon, holding sewage and runoff until storms pass,” Chicago Tribune

Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago's Thornton Composite Reservoir in South Holland is part of the deep tunnel project, seen here in 2015.

Summary: More than four decades after officials broke ground for one of the nation's most expensive public works projects, Chicago and Cook County are about to find out if a giant hole in the southwest suburbs can curb sewage flushing into Lake Michigan and alleviate flooding from Wilmette to Westchester. Local politicians and federal officials gathered Monday in McCook to celebrate the soon-to-be completed work of connecting a former hard-rock quarry to the Deep Tunnel, a series of cavernous pipes under the Chicago and Des Plaines rivers that collect sewage and storm runoff from neighborhood sewers.  Sandwiched next to sludge lagoons between the Stevenson Expressway and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, the first stage of the McCook Reservoir will hold up to 3.5 billion gallons until the murky water can be pumped to a nearby water reclamation plant for treatment. The total capacity is expected to reach 10 billion gallons after a larger section is mined out and opened in 2029. "This is only the beginning," U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat and one of several officials who have helped secure funding for the long-delayed project, said during a ceremony at the edge of the now-empty reservoir. Separate, smaller portions of the Deep Tunnel in the Calumet region and near O'Hare International Airport have dramatically reduced the amount of raw sewage and runoff pouring into local waterways during and after rainstorms. But questions remain about whether the sprawling labyrinth of sewers connected to the McCook Reservoir can convey deluges fast enough to protect much larger portions of the city and Cook County suburbs. Combined, the smaller systems collect runoff from 102 square miles. The McCook Reservoir's service area is more than double that amount: 252 square miles. Technically known as the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan, the nearly $4 billion Deep Tunnel has been in the works since the mid-1960s. After years of debate it became the city and county's official solution to protect Lake Michigan from sewage overflows and stop the flow of human and industrial waste into local rivers. "The reservoir is going to take a lot of pressure off the system," said David St. Pierre, the district's executive director. "In an area this flat with so many impervious surfaces, we'll never be able to build sewers and reservoirs big enough to handle all of the water that comes our way."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-deep-tunnel-mccook-reservoir-met-20171204-story.html

“Officials Dedicate First Stage of McCook Reservoir,” WTTW

Public officials dedicate the completion of the first stage of the McCook Reservoir.

Summary: U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley and officials from several federal and state agencies celebrated a recently finished section of the McCook Reservoir that can hold up to 3.5 billion gallons of water. The event marks the completion of stage one of the Reservoir, which will provide a total storage capacity of 10 billion gallons when complete in 2029. Stage one of the project is estimated to provide $114 million per year in flood reduction benefits to 3.1 million residents in Chicago and dozens of surrounding communities that use a combined water collection system, according to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD). “It’s not going to be the magic bullet that we all think it is, but it’s going to significantly reduce the incidences of flooding,” said Mariyana Spyropoulos, president of the MWRD Board of Commissioners, in a previous interview with Chicago Tonight. At 3,000 feet long and 310 feet deep, the McCook Reservoir is part of MWRD’s Tunnel and Reservoir Plan, or TARP. Also known as Deep Tunnel, TARP is one of the country’s largest public works projects for pollution and flood control. The 109-mile tunnel system, which can capture 2.3 billion gallons of water several hundred feet below ground, was completed in 2006.
http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/12/04/officials-dedicate-first-stage-mccook-reservoir
https://patch.com/illinois/oaklawn/lipinski-celebrates-completion-mccook-reservoir-project

“McCook Reservoir opens, seeks to alleviate flooding,” ABC7, WLS
Summary: Basement and street flooding from heavy rain in Chicago and 36 suburbs could be reduced thanks to the McCook Reservoir, which dignitaries dedicated on Monday. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the big hole, which could provide relief from Bedford Park to Wilmette.  The 285-feet deep McCook Quarry now will become a reservoir for floodwater and is the latest addition to the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP). The massive flood and pollution relief effort was started over four decades ago by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD). "It doesn't solve all the problems but it alleviates some, takes some of the burden off," said Congressman Mike Quigley, D-Chicago. Two years ago, the Thornton Reservoir began taking south suburban floodwater. McCook is meant to lessen those heavy rain floods, but it won't eliminate flooding. "This will provide the most benefit for those long duration storms when it rains three days straight. That's the kind of storm this is perfect for," Carmen Scalise, of MWRD McCook project manager.
This is Phase 1 of the project. In 12 years, the plan is to add an adjacent quarry to increase capacity. The second quarry still being limestone mined. If it wins funding, there, the 3.5 billion gallon bathtub will nearly triple in size.

http://abc7chicago.com/mccook-reservoir-opens-seeks-to-alleviate-flooding/2737877/

“Chicago wastewater utility marks water project completion,” Illinois Farm Bureau

IFB Director Earl Williams of Winnebago County joins other IFB directors viewing the McCook Reservoir during a 2016 tour of the construction. A Caterpillar tractor, lower right, provides perspective of the project’s scale.

Chicago’s massive 3.5-billion-gallon reservoir, part of a public water project, is complete and will be celebrated Dec. 3 by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It marks completion of Stage I of the McCook Reservoir, part of the MWRD's Tunnel and Reservoir Plan. Illinois Farm Bureau and MWRD are exploring collaborative opportunities for agriculture and the utility to address water quality issues. The first stage will provide reduced flooding benefits worth an estimated $114 million annually to Chicago and 36 other communities. After a second stage is finished, McCook can store 10 billion gallons for an estimated $143 million in annual reduced flooding benefits. Dubbed "Deep Tunnel," the tunnel and reservoir plan comprises one of the nation’s largest public works projects for pollution and flood control, and a 375-mile area. Completed in 2006, a 109-mile tunnel system can capture 2.3 billion gallons of water 150 to 300 feet belowground.

Related: A group of IFB directors and staff toured the McCook Reservoir last year. Read more about the facility. Click here.
http://www.ilfb.org/ifb-news-and-events/ifb-in-action/2017/2017-dec/12-1-17-chicago-wastewater-utility-marks-water-project-completion.aspx

Creating a universal solution for nutrient pollution,” Water Online
Summary: The issue of nutrient pollution is one with widespread implications but, to date, siloed solutions.  Nutrients find their way into water supplies through agricultural and industrial runoff, they are typically headaches for treatment plants to address, they create toxic algae that affects source water and wildlife, and sometimes they even pose health issues in drinking water. Through this cycle, excessive nutrients affect a wide range of agencies and groups. It’s time that all of those affected and all of those who play a part in the problem with nutrient contamination join together to do something about it. “The problem has gotten to a scale that we have to step up our efforts,” said Radhika Fox, CEO of the U.S. Water Alliance, which recently released a report and held a webinar dedicated to finding a more holistic approach to nutrient issues. The U.S. Water Alliance, a non-profit based in Washington, D.C. that seeks to promote conversation about improving water quality and resources, has identified issues with the scattered way in which nutrient problems are typically addressed, with agricultural entities, treatment plants, and environmental groups working on their own without collaboration and communities around the country all contributing to dead zones in source water without banding together to stop. “While some important progress has been made, it is clear that the piecemeal approach of trying to tackle this problem community by community isn’t sufficient,” Fox said. To encourage the types of partnerships that the U.S. Water Alliance sees as effective, it hosted a webinar on “Addressing Nutrient Pollution in our Nation’s Water” earlier this month. It gathered high-level representatives from the utility, environmental, and agricultural fields to discuss how closer collaboration can be a solution to the growing nutrient pollution problem. “The holistic approach means coming at decisions with a system mindset that encompasses watershed-scale thinking and action, rather than being governed by political boundaries drawn on a map,” said Fox. “It would mean partnerships for progress, recognizing that real progress will only be made when all stakeholders have a seat at the table.” This approach has already been put into place in some communities and has been shown to be effective. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD), for instance, has had great success in removing nutrients from wastewaters before discharging and part of that success has come from conversations between disparate states and the agricultural industry. “[There was] a conversation between farmers and utility leaders across the 10 states in the Mississippi river basin… Everyone said nutrients need a big leap forward, the current paradigm isn’t working, and the Clean Water Act wasn’t equipped to solve this problem,” said David St. Pierre, executive director of MWRD. “Illinois, Ohio, and Iowa convened to try and solve this problem. We had very good multi-stakeholder viewpoints at the table, from NGOs to agriculture to industry to utility leaders.” As always, utilities have a significant role to play in promoting a more holistic approach against nutrient pollution. They are, after all, the critical point of defense against excess phosphorus and nitrogen. “While it may be easy to think about the role your utility plays in your city’s water management system, think about your utility’s role in the larger system of the watershed and its health,” Fox said. “Search for partnership opportunities to connect with the agricultural community and other agencies.”
https://www.wateronline.com/doc/creating-a-universal-solution-for-nutrient-pollution-0001

Space to Grow partners were recognized at the Storm Water Solutions Conference & Exhibition recently as a Top Project of 2017 in a national competition. On hand to receive the honor were MWRD Principal Civil Engineer Jim Yurik (from left), Space to Grow Senior Manager Meg Kelly, of the Healthy Schools Campaign, MWRD Associate Civil Engineer John Watson and Assistant Civil Engineer Mark Castillo.

A Chicago partnership to transform local schoolyards into vibrant outdoor community spaces has been nationally recognized for its work addressing stormwater. The public school playground rehabilitation program, Space to Grow, a brainchild of partners at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD), Healthy Schools Campaign, Openlands, the Chicago Department of Water Management and Chicago Public Schools (CPS), was recognized as a Top Project for 2017 by Storm Water Solutions Magazine at the Storm Water Solutions annual Conference and Exhibition at the Tinley Park Convention Center.

“On behalf of our Space to Grow partners at the Healthy Schools Campaign, Openlands, the Chicago Department of Water Management and Chicago Public Schools, we are honored to receive this recognition by Storm Water Solutions,” said MWRD President Mariyana Spyropoulos. “Space to Grow provides a vibrant learning environment while at the same time establishing communities with central gathering places. With these new and improved schoolyards, teachers, students and their families are taking ownership of stormwater management, improving local water quality and confronting the excess water that overwhelms our neighborhoods. We have transformed several schools around Chicago and are happy to report that we have more to come.”

Space to Grow converts schoolyards into community spaces for physical activity, outdoor learning, environmental literacy and engagement with art, while addressing neighborhood flooding issues. Crumbling asphalt and neglected playground equipment in flood prone neighborhoods are replaced with multi-use “green” schoolyards. Improvements include turf fields, jogging tracks, basketball courts, age-appropriate play equipment, vegetable gardens and rain gardens. The schoolyards are designed to include ground surfaces and landscape features that absorb large amounts of water, which will result in less neighborhood flooding. Since 2014, the partnership has led to nine schoolyard transformations and the design of six more to hold a combined 2.5 million gallons of stormwater. As part of the continuing education, Space to Grow partners have worked with more than 5,000 students in their gardens and trained nearly 300 teachers to effectively incorporate their new schoolyards into their school culture.

“Space to Grow is in full swing and making a positive impact on the schools, students and communities where schoolyards are built,” said Healthy Schools Campaign President & CEO Rochelle Davis. “Our evaluations are showing an increase in physical activity in students of all ages as well as more positive social interactions; positive relationships between the schools and surrounding communities; and staff satisfaction and high utilization of the schoolyard as an extension of their classroom. In addition, we’re also learning that the innovative green stormwater infrastructure is working well to capture millions of gallons of stormwater—keeping it out of the sewers during our heaviest storms. That goes a long way to creating more resilient communities. We are excited to continue this momentum to build schoolyards and make green schoolyards the norm in communities across Chicago.”

Highlighted in the Storm Water Solutions honor was one of Space to Grow’s latest creations at Wadsworth Elementary School, 6650 S. Ellis Ave. The new schoolyard comes with an athletic field with artificial turf, a running track, a basketball court, a playground with poured-in-place rubberized surface and vegetable gardens donated by The Kitchen Community. Wadsworth plans to use the new schoolyard to enhance its Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) curriculum, while also exploring many new options for PE class, recess and healthy initiatives for the entire community through outdoor Zumba classes. More than 50 percent of the new surface of the schoolyard is pervious compared to the nearly 100 percent impervious grounds prior to construction. The campus features a cistern capturing roof runoff, a rain garden capturing runoff from the track and 33 trees, 42 shrubs and 1,788 perennials planted by students, parents and community members. More than 130,000 gallons of stormwater is temporarily stored under the surface area before being gradually released to the combined sewer or infiltrated into the subsoil, thus not only mitigating flooding but helping the MWRD improve water quality.

“Space to Grow is forging partnerships and innovation at all levels. Not only are three public agencies on board as capital partners and providing funding, leadership and expertise for the schoolyard design and renovation - the program engages principals, teachers, students, parents, neighbors and community organizations,” said Openlands President & CEO Jerry Adelmann. “Schoolyard design includes innovative engineering that STEM schools can incorporate into their curriculum; they are spaces for parents and students to engage with nature and be active; and the program’s design is a model for other cities across the country.”

Space to Grow officials and MWRD Commissioner Kari K. Steele celebrated the recognition with Wadsworth students and Principal Rashid Shabazz on a recent visit to the school. “We are excited to see these improved outdoor spaces being used for recreation and education, while also helping us meet our goals of protecting businesses and homes from flood damage and protecting the quality of water,” said MWRD Commissioner Steele. “Thank you to our Space to Grow partners for continuing this essential lesson in stormwater management. It’s because of these partners that we are able to expand our mission to various school communities throughout Chicago.”

This is the second straight year an MWRD affiliated project has been honored by Storm Water Solutions as a Top Project. In 2016, the MWRD was recognized along with the city of Blue Island and design engineers Environmental Design International for a green infrastructure project in the south suburban community. For the project, the MWRD installed six rain gardens and two permeable parking lots in flood prone areas to capture more than 150,000 gallons of stormwater per rain event and assist in mitigating flooding damages.

To read about Space to Grow in an upcoming edition of Storm Water Solutions and see other top projects, visit: www.estormwater.com.

From L to R: Wadsworth Elementary School Assistant Principal Leslie Swain-Store, Principal Civil Engineer Jim Yurik, Commissioner Kari K. Steele and Space to Grow Senior Manager Meg Kelly, of the Healthy Schools Campaign visit the new schoolyard Space to Grow delivered to Wadsworth.

Space to Grow converts schoolyards into vibrant community spaces like this one at Wadsworth Elementary School in the Englewood neighborhood. In the process, these campus upgrades address flooding issues.

“The Chicago River,” WTTW

Audio Tour: 10 Most Iconic Buildings along the Chicago Riverwalk

A River and Its City
In the epic drama that is Chicago’s history, the Chicago River has played many roles, by turns hero, villain, and underdog. The most iconic river scenes lie near the river’s confluence with Lake Michigan, the junction that gave rise to the city itself, where skyscrapers now exalt the river’s banks and form a spectacular canyon of stunning architecture. But there are many more miles to this story, stretching south into the Sanitary and Ship Canal and winding north through the Skokie Lagoons and the Chicago Botanic Garden. And there’s more to the river than scenery. This story is loaded with river lore. It’s been re-engineered on a scale never seen before in American history. It’s seen heart-wrenching tragedies and given us one-of-a-kind characters. Today, people live, work, and play along the river. A few brave souls have even gone for a dip in its waters. Join Geoffrey Baer and WTTW for a journey along the river that gave birth to Chicago.
http://interactive.wttw.com/chicago-river-tour

The Animated Story of How Chicago Reversed Its River

http://interactive.wttw.com/chicago-river-tour/how-chicago-reversed-river-animated

Six Ways You Can Help the Chicago River

http://interactive.wttw.com/chicago-river-tour/six-ways-help-chicago-river

The Chicago River: Then and Now, in Photos

http://interactive.wttw.com/chicago-river-tour/chicago-river-then-now-photos

The History of the Chicago River

http://interactive.wttw.com/chicago-river-tour/history-chicago-river

Take A Virtual Tour Of The Chicago River And Its History,” WTTW

Top photo: Geoffrey Baer on a Chicago River boat tour | Courtesy WTTW

Summary: More than two decades after he filmed his first televised Chicago River tour, which was also his first special for WTTW, Geoffrey Baer has watched the city's aqueous artery's role evolve. The third edition of Baer's tour premieres on WTTW Monday, and he told Patch it was his most personal exploration of the river yet. "Now I'm near the end of my career, when I made the first show I was near the beginning of my career. I think reflecting back now, I really realize what a huge role the river played in my life," Baer said. "Not only because 30 years ago I became a docent for the Chicago Architecture Foundation – I've been giving river tours for almost 30 years – but way before that as a child the river played a big role in my life I was entirely unaware of."

Baer, an Evanston resident, grew up in Highland Park and Deerfield, where he lived less than a block from Deerfield Park District's Trail Tree Park. Baer travels all three branches of the river aboard six different vessels in the special. He travels from the Botanic Gardens and Skokie Lagoons in Glencoe and Winnetka in the north to the Sanitary and Shipping Canal in Lemont. The history of the river is inextricably intertwined with that of the city of Chicago. The WTTW special covers everything from the city's first full-time resident, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, to the latest updates to the river, like the Chicago Riverwalk and the Apple Store that recently opened sits atop the site of du Sable's former home.  As the economy and character of Chicago have evolved, the city's relationship with the river has shifted as well. The website for the special launched at airtime, Nov. 27 at 7:30 p.m. It includes a virtual tour of the river and an animated video explaining the history of the river's reversal, 360-degree videos and drone footage captured during production. It also explored the history, development, famous structures and environmental challenges of the river in the future.
https://patch.com/illinois/deerfield/take-virtual-tour-chicago-river-its-history

“Inaugural SWS Conference a Success,” Stormwater Solutions Magazine

Summary: SWS editors reflect on the inaugural SWS Conference & Exhibition
The inaugural Storm Water Solutions (SWS) Conference & Exhibition kicked off Nov. 7 with a tour of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Great Chicago’s Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) at the facility’s interactive exhibit area. The subsequent days featured 11.5 available Professional Development Hours (PDH) as well as countless opportunities to network with industry leaders. Stormwater professionals convened at the Tinley Park, Ill., Convention Center in the Greater Chicago area for a week jam-packed with educational opportunities. The keynote speaker, Jennifer Zielinski Missett, P.E., of Biohabitats, led a lecture about the progress at the Chesapeake Bay TMDL watershed restoration and lessons learned. Session topics ranged across a wide spectrum through green infrastructure, stormwater management, and monitoring. Beyond the sessions, the exhibit hall featured the latest storm water and erosion control technology from rainwater harvesting to permeable pavement.
https://www.estormwater.com/inaugural-sws-conference-success

“Chi-Cal Rivers Fund Announces $960,000 in Grants,” 4-Traders
Summary: Chi-Cal Rivers Fund partners announced five projects selected to receive $960,000 in grant funding to improve and enhance waterways in the Chicago-Calumet region. Awardees include: Illinois Conservation Foundation, Friends of the Chicago River, Friends of the Forest Preserves, Save the Dunes Conservation Fund and Student Conservation Association. These community-driven investments will enhance fish and wildlife habitat, reduce stormwater runoff and improve public-use opportunities. The grants will generate $1.46 million in matching contributions, for a total conservation impact of $2.42 million.  Administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), the fund is supported in 2017 with contributions from ArcelorMittal, BNSF Railway, The Chicago Community Trust, The Crown Family, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service. The grants announced today mark the fund’s fifth annual slate of grants, bringing its total cumulative impact to $18.23 million. “The Chi-Cal Rivers Fund demonstrates how public-private partnerships can uniquely accelerate the restoration and revitalization of habitats, waterways and communities through collaborative investment and strategic alignment,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “The awards announced today represent the fund’s fifth year of conservation investments throughout the Chicago-Calumet region, which have led to the restoration of more than 1,600 acres of habitat, 4.5 million gallons of additional stormwater capacity and the creation or enhancement of more than 80 acres of public park and neighborhood green space.” Collectively, the funded projects will:

• Restore and enhance 240 acres of savanna, riparian and upland habitat
• Improve 13,200 feet of in-stream habitat
• Create and improve more than 10 acres of neighborhood green space
• Add more than 551,200 square feet of green stormwater infrastructure

To learn more about the Chi-Cal Rivers Fund and the five projects announced today, please visit www.nfwf.org/chi-cal.
Note: The MWRD provides technical assistance to the Chi-Cal River Fund.
http://www.4-traders.com/news/Chi-Cal-Rivers-Fund-Announces-960-000-in-Grants--25496765/

Slowik: Planners honor Cal-Sag Trail boosters for 'model' collaboration,” Daily Southtown

The opening of the western half of the 26-mile Cal-Sag Trail in Palos Heights is shown in 2015.

Summary: A group with deep Chicago roots is giving south suburban residents, civic boosters, recreation enthusiasts and others a new reason to get excited about the Cal-Sag Trail. The Metropolitan Planning Council has awarded the 2017 Burnham Award for Excellence in Planning to the Friends of the Cal-Sag Trail and the Cal-Sag Coalition. The recognition should help elevate the profile of the Southland and raise awareness about the 26-mile multi-use trail that extends through 14 communities from Calumet City to Lemont.

Steve Buchtel, executive director of Trails for Illinois, and other Friends of the Cal-Sag Trail volunteers first envisioned the project in 2004. They began meeting regularly to discuss plans for a trail that would follow the Cal-Sag Channel and Calumet River. The results show what can happen when communities collaborate on a bigger project, even when the same towns might compete to attract small businesses or other opportunities. "This is the model others should follow," Buchtel said. The Cal-Sag Coalition is a public-private partnership that helped acquire land and obtain funding for the $21 million project. Members include the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, the towns of Blue Island, Burnham, Calumet City, Dolton, Palos Heights, Palos Park and Riverdale and the park districts of Alsip and Dolton. Organizers in 2015 celebrated the opening of the Cal-Sag Trail's western half, a 13-mile section from Cicero Avenue in Alsip to Route 83 in Lemont. "Trail counters in Palos Heights tallied 80,000 user trips in the western segment's first year of operation," the trail's website says. Construction continues on portions of the eastern half, with completion set for early 2019, Buchtel said. Josh Ellis, a Metropolitan Planning Council vice president, said the recognition for the Cal-Sag Trail is a credit to the people involved in the "inter-jurisdictional collaboration" that brought the project from a concept to reality. Volunteers and advocates worked behind the scenes for more than a decade to promote the trail. More than 185,000 Southland residents live within a mile of the trail, and 1.2 million people live within a 15-minute drive of the attraction. Burnham Award judges recognized how the trail enhances appreciation of waterways for recreation and environmental protection, Ellis said. "We're big fans about accentuating river assets," he said. "The Cal-Sag Trail does that. It creates an asset out of something that's been overlooked for many years." More than a century ago, industrial and commercial interests controlled Chicago's lakefront. Planners worked to make the lakefront public, and today it may be Chicago's most valuable asset. A similar transformation is envisioned along the Calumet River and Cal-Sag Channel. The trail links three marinas, three golf courses and six nature and forest preserves. The Cal-Sag Trail is the Southland's longest trail, stretching 8 miles longer than the Old Plank Road Trail. It connects to a 100-mile network of five other regional trails, offering fitness and health opportunities for many.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/opinion/ct-sta-slowik-cal-sag-trail-award-st-1109-20171108-story.html

“Grant to assist Robbins renewal project,” UIC Today

“Creating Robbins Park: Village of Robbins, IL.” (2017) Photo: Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.

Backed by funding from the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust, the University of Illinois at Chicago will join a partnership between the village of Robbins and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) to support the Southwest suburb’s revitalization and sustainability efforts. The $50,000, 10-month grant will allow the UIC College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs to lend project planning and management assistance to the Robbins Renewal and Resiliency Project, which aims to address environmental and economic issues in the community. Robbins and the MWRD collaborated earlier to develop the infrastructure investment project, which centers on the creation of a stormwater park to alleviate flooding issues in the village. The plan calls for the conversion of approximately 140 acres from the floodplain to land suitable for development, such as a green industry district along the Cal-Sag Channel and a transit-oriented district near Metra’s 139th Street station. “The grant will help UIC, in partnership with the village and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, to deliver technical and management expertise to help the village move the project forward, develop a long-term evaluation program, and build professional capacity and long-term financial support for the project,” said Moira Zellner, UIC associate professor of urban planning and policy and principal investigator on the grant. Most of the grant will pay for a graduate student to serve as a project manager to oversee the planning of the project, engage residents and stakeholders in the planning process, and seek additional grant opportunities. The project manager will also coordinate communication between Robbins, the MWRD and other governmental agencies on the construction of phase one of the stormwater project, including the centennial boat launch and the diversion channel. A modeling technician will be hired to assist in analytics and to develop a long-term evaluation program for the project. Project partners Tyrone Ward, mayor of Robbins, and Michael Pagano, dean of the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs and professor of public administration at UIC, will also provide direction and oversight. “We envision this project as a stepping stone for a multi-year collaboration,” said Zellner, who is also a research associate professor in the Institute for Environmental Science and Policy at UIC and director of the Urban Data Visualization Lab at UIC.
http://today.uic.edu/grant-to-assist-robbins-renewal-project
http://www.newswise.com/articles/grant-to-assist-robbins-renewal-project

“SWAN hosts 2^nd annual utility workshop in Chicago,” SWAN Forum
On Nov. 6, the SWAN North American Alliance held its second annual utility workshop in Chicago in collaboration with the Alliance for Water Efficiency, Current, and Global Water Works. Hosted by Uptake, the event featured an interactive exploration of innovative, digital solutions to North American water infrastructure challenges with a special focus on the Midwest region. The MWRD was represented at the conference.
https://www.swan-forum.com/

In the photo: Far right, John Murray, MWRD Director of Maintenance and Operations

“CWSRF PISCES Program: Performance and Innovation in the SRF Creating Environmental Success,” US EPA

Summary: The Clean Water State Revolving Fund’s (CWSRF) Performance and Innovation in the SRF Creating Environmental Success (PISCES) program allows assistance recipients to gain national recognition for exceptional projects funded by the CWSRF. Participating state programs each nominated one project that demonstrates one or more of the following evaluation criteria:

• Water Quality, Public Health, or Economic Benefits
• Sustainability
• Innovation

After all project nominations were reviewed, EPA selected five exceptional projects for further recognition. These five projects demonstrated excellence in matching the PISCES criteria and pushed the envelope for being innovative in using the CWSRF to achieve clean water for their communities. Several additional projects closely demonstrated this level of innovation and are recognized as an Honorable Mention. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency submitted the MWRD’s Phosphorus Recovery facility to represent the state, and the project received an honorable mention award.
https://www.epa.gov/cwsrf/pisces

“STEM careers promoted around Chicago; Steele participates in S.T.E.M. and Climate Justice related events,” Chicago Citizen

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Commissioner Kari K. Steele participated in S.T.E.M. and Climate Justice related events in separate events across the Chicagoland area recently. Steele joined more than 100 professionals representing over 40 companies, including the MWRD, for the Annual Science Works Career Fair at the Museum of Science and Industry. The Museum-wide career fair, with an array of dynamic speakers, hands on activities and one-on-one discussions, brought young people and their families together to learn about interesting jobs in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. Commissioner Steele also recently facilitated two workshop discussions at the Field Museum for the 2nd Annual Green Team Summit sponsored by Faith in Place, a non-profit organization empowering Illinois residents of all faiths to be leaders in caring for the Earth. The workshops examined the Energy & Climate Change, Sustainable Food & Land Use, Water Preservation, and Advocacy programs of Faith in Place designed to address climate justice in Illinois.
http://thechicagocitizen.com/news/2017/oct/25/stem-careers-promoted-around-chicago/

“Flooding in Chicago,” Chicago Tonight
MWRD Board President Mariyana T. Spyropoulos joins Friends of the Chicago River Executive Director Margaret Frisbie to discuss tips residents can use to help prevent flooding. President Spyropoulos also speaks briefly on the incident at Bubbly Creek involving an oil spill. The source of the spill is unknown at this time. The EPA will be coordinating recovery and cleanup efforts and has deployed a containment boom at the entrance to the Bubbly Creek section to prevent the oil from moving.
http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/10/26/oct-26-2017-full-show

“What the MWRD Has Learned About Wastewater Treatment,” Water Online

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) operates perhaps the country’s best-known and highest-caliber wastewater treatment facility. The Stickney Water Reclamation Plant, located in Cicero, IL, is the world’s largest such facility and one that has been at the forefront of the nation’s efforts to recover wastewater resources and reduce nutrient pollution. As such, the plant has been no stranger to headlines in its history and was in the news once again recently as it received a “Project Excellence Award” from the Water Environment Federation (WEF) for its ability to reduce downstream phosphorus charges and protect source water as far as the Gulf of Mexico. Stickney’s journey to become one of the world’s preeminent resource recovery projects is well documented. It utilized Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies and design/build services from Black & Veatch to go online in late 2016. The plant has a peak capacity to handle 1.4 BGD and averages about 700 MGD. Its reactors have capacity to treat 7,900 pounds of nutrients per day. The MWRD has the potential to recover as much as 7,500 tons of fertilizer product per year, which it markets and sells as “Crystal Green.” It also boasts its own bulk loading capabilities, transferring the fertilizer directly into 20-ton trucks. Despite the incredible capacity and awards, the MWRD has plans to keep improving its process. For starters, it is exploring the use of an Ostara technology called Waste Activated Sludge Stripping to Recover Internal Phosphorus (WASSTRIP).

“By implementing WASSTRIP as part of the overall nutrient recovery program, the MWRD will reduce impairment to biological phosphorus sludge dewatering,” said an MWRD spokesperson. “This will decrease the amount of polymer demand in the dewatering process. WASSTRIP should also improve the reliability and efficiency of phosphorus removal and will double the overall recovery of nutrients from the waste stream. This should also lower the phosphorus value in our biosolids compost, giving the ‘P to N’ ratio better composting characteristics.” The MWRD also learned some critical lessons when first getting this project online, ones that may help other projects around the country and will certainly inform Chicago’s decisions in the future.

“The MWRD used a design-build format in delivering this project; this approach is new to the MWRD and brings its own learning opportunities,” the spokesperson said. “The standard Ostara reactor design was too small for this facility, so the Ostara team had to go to the drawing board and design a new reactor that could accommodate the scale of the Stickney WRP.” The MWRD also learned a lesson courtesy of a pesky mineral as it tried to get this project up and running. “Struvite buildup in the pumps and pipes also provided opportunities for learning,” said the spokesperson. “We are installing an automated acid wash system to care for the pumps and a CO2 pH system to address the issue.” Addressing struvite — which forms as a combination of magnesium, ammonia, and phosphate in wastewater and can be recovered for use as fertilizer — also presents an opportunity that the MWRD sees for smaller plants to follow its large-scale lead. “Struvite removal should be scalable for the largest plant in the world and for the smallest,” the spokesperson said. “Removing phosphorus in a plant’s original footprint is possible and affordable using struvite recovery in a plant. Implementing enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) without struvite would have cost $750 million-plus in the Stickney facility. EBPR was stabilized and successful at a fraction of this cost and can be duplicated in smaller plants around the world.”

Finally, the MWRD is looking to evolve by setting the ambitious goal of full energy neutrality by 2023. It is upgrading its primary tanks and finding ways to implement new technology throughout operations. It is pursuing the sale of its treated water for industrial applications. “The Stickney WRP will continue to develop a robust resource recovery model built on the beneficial reuse of energy, water, biosolids, phosphorus, and other nutrients,” said the spokesperson. “The available digester capacity at Stickney is being explored for the addition of food organics and will help us reach [our] energy neutrality goal.” Though it has received national recognition and industrial acclaim, the MWRD’s Stickney facility has overcome obstacles and outlined future goals just like any other wastewater service provider in the country. Hopefully its past, present, and future offer something of value to the utilities that are watching.
https://www.wateronline.com/doc/what-the-mwrd-has-learned-about-wastewater-treatment-0001

“Municipal Engineering Foundation study tour visit to Chicago,” American Public Works Association Reporter

http://www.apwa.net/Documents/Reporter/201710_ReporterOnline.pdf

“Tips for Conserving Water to Prevent Flooding in Chicago,” WTTW

Flooding in Albany Park in April 2013 (Center for Neighborhood Technology / Flickr)

Rainstorms dumped more than 5 inches of water in 24 hours on the Chicago area earlier this month, forcing the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District to open the locks where the Chicago River meets Lake Michigan for the first time since June 2015. As a result, the river, filled with storm runoff and sewage, began flowing into Lake Michigan. According to the MWRD, as little as a third of an inch of rain can cause a combined sewer overflow, a mixture of rainwater and sewage that spills into the river and other waterways. “Most people think that [flooding] is kind of beyond them,” said Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River. “You’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s raining. What will I be able to do to stop flooding?’ But you can actually make a difference.”

Last year, Friends launched the Overflow Action Days initiative to encourage residents to use less water at home when forecasts predict significant rain, thereby giving sewers more capacity to handle the rain. Based on the model of Air Pollution Action Days or similarly named efforts, Overflow Action lets users sign up for email alerts that include water conservation reminders before and during rain events. Water-saving actions include delaying showers or reducing the length of showers, flushing less frequently and waiting to run the dishwasher. Residents can also pledge to conserve a specific number of gallons of water per day during action days. The group offers additional tips for conserving water that it says can help you save 20 gallons per day:

• Install a low-flow showerhead, which can save the average household nearly 3,000 gallons per year.
• Instead of washing dishes by hand or using a dishwasher for just a few dishes, run a full load of dishes in a dishwasher and save up to 20 gallons of water.
• Replace old faucets and showerheads with more efficient ones. This could save the average household up to 700 gallons in a year.
• Turn off your faucet when you aren’t using it, i.e. while brushing your teeth or washing your face.

In addition to partnerships with MWRD and other Chicago organizations, Frisbie said the Friends are looking to partner with an area university to test its Overflow Action initiative at a dormitory, where students would be encouraged to conserve water during rain events.
http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/10/24/tips-conserving-water-prevent-flooding-chicago

“City's Water Commissioner Accidentally Floods His Own Basement During Storm,” DNAInfo
Summary: Water Department Commissioner Randy Conner admitted Monday night he accidentally flooded his own basement during a recent storm. Conner, a Morgan Park resident, was speaking at a meeting of the Beverly Area Improvement Association when he shared his experience during the record rainfall Oct. 14. As flash floods moved across the city, Conner noticed the storm drain in front of his house was clogged by leaves, he told those gathered at the Beverly Library. The water had puddled over the curb. Conner believed he was doing a civil service by going out into the storm and removing the leaves blocking the sewer. Once clear, the water rushed into the open drain, Conner said. He returned to his house to find about three inches of water had spouted around his basement floor drain. Conner used a sump pump to clear away the backwater and offered his personal experience as a warning against such acts. He told the homeowners gathered at 1962 W. 95th St. that he has since learned that leaves blocking the sewers can actually help to pace water intake for city's aged sewer systems. In fact, he said it’s perfectly acceptable for water to stay puddled the street for 6-7 hours after a storm. If the puddles remain after that, water department crews will come to check for a blockage or collapsed drain pipe, Conner said.

To keep water out of the sewers (and your basement) Conner also recommended:

• Disconnecting downspouts from the sewers is a way to greatly to reduce the amount of water entering into the system.
• Using rain barrels can also help divert water from the city sewers. In fact, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District has a program that sells rain barrels at cost in an effort to boost such conservation measures.
• Conner also recommended, if possible, avoiding washing clothes, running dishwashers and showering during heavy storms. These tasks also add water to the system that treats both waste water and rain water in the same pipes.

He added that flushing toilets is generally safe, as it uses only about a gallon of water per flush. Conner later fielded questions from North Beverly residents about recent infrastructure work happening in the neighborhood. He said there are 3.4 miles of improvements happening to sewers and water supply lines in the 19th Ward. This work encompasses 35 separate locations in Beverly, Mount Greenwood and Morgan Park. Conner said he's asked workers to distribute flyers to homeowners, letting them known both the scope and timeframe for the projects.
https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20171024/morgan-park/metropolitan-water-reclamation-district-mwrd-randy-conner-commissioner-storm-flooding-leaves-blocking-sewers

 “Commissioner Kari K. Steele provides useful tips through PSA campaign,” Chicago Defender

Summary: Commissioner Kari K. Steele Provides Useful Tips for Preventing Basement Backups and Knowing the Difference Between Services Provided by MWRD and the City of Chicago Department of Water Management in recent public service announcement.
https://chicagodefender.com/2017/10/20/commissioner-kari-k-steele-provides-useful-tips-through-psa-campaign/

“Project aims to Relieve Flooding At Loyola University Medical Center,” WBBM

Pictured (L-R): Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Martin Durkan, HUD Midwest Deputy Regional Administrator James A. Cunningham, Maywood Village Trustee Isiah Brandon, U.S. Congressman Danny Davis, MWRD Commissioner Frank Avila, Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin, MWRD Commissioner Kari K. Steele, Maywood Mayor Edwenna Perkins, Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Division Provost Margaret Faut Callahan, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Loyola University Health System President & CEO Larry M. Goldberg, MWRD Commissioner Barbara McGowan, Cook County Commissioner John Daley, Illinois Rep. Emanuel "Chris" Welch, MWRD Commissioner Debra Shore and Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski.

Summary: Ground has been broken on a new project to relieve flooding at Loyola University Medical Center. Back in 2013, Loyola University Health System President Larry Goldberg says heavy rains brought serious flooding to the medical center. “All of our basements and lower concourses were flooded. That didn’t allow us to provide care to this community — what we do best.” Now Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board President, says Loyola has received a $5.5 million federal grant to combat storm water.
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/10/17/loyola-university-flood-relief/

"The SWAN North American Alliance and Industry Partners Collaborate to Bring Engaging Smart Water Discussions to the Midwest," PR News
In what will be an exciting multi-partner effort, the SWAN North American Alliance, an initiative of the Smart Water Networks Forum (SWAN), together with industry leaders, the Alliance for Water Efficiency, Current, and Global Water Works invite you to attend “Modernizing North American Water Systems in the Digital Age,” a one-day workshop on Nov. 6th in Chicago. Hosted by Uptake, the event will feature an interactive exploration of innovative, digital solutions to North American water infrastructure challenges, with a special focus on the Midwest region. Following the Workshop, Sensus will host a special evening reception. This upcoming Workshop, which builds off the successful first utility workshop held in partnership with Cleantech San Diego earlier this year, will feature a keynote presentation by David St. Pierre, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and will showcase progressive Midwest utilities from Chicago, Cincinnati, Grand Rapids, Madison, and South Bend. The event will also engage participants in peer-to-peer roundtables and cover critical smart water trends and topics such as real-time water quality monitoring, urban flooding management, and digital transformation. The organizers and partners plan to attract a diverse audience of utilities, tech providers, researchers and consultants to foster collaboration and further emphasize the role of data-driven technologies in advancing smart water and wastewater networks. Steve Frenkel, Executive Director of Current, a new non-profit water innovation platform and workshop partner added: “Chicago’s robust water research capacity and tech community drive new innovations including the shift to digital water solutions. The workshop brings together progressive utilities and innovative companies to discuss the important contributions of digital water technologies in ensuring the more effective and sustainable use of water resources.” Learn more about the Workshop and reserve your spot today here:
https://www.swan-forum.com/chicago-workshop/

“111 Places in Chicago That You Must Not Miss,” Amy Bizzardi
Calumet Water Reclamation Plant is highlighted.

17 1017_111_Places_In_Chicago_CWRP_Tour111 Places in Chicago That You Must Not Miss

“Where Does that Water Go When it Rains A Lot?,” Word Press
I did something super nerdy yesterday. I had the opportunity to go on a tour of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Chicago‘s McCook Reservoir and Mainstream Pumping Station.

The circular entrance of MWRD is approximately the same size as the tunnels. Have I bored you already? Just wait. The Mainstream Pumping Station is one of three stations designed to capture combined sewer overflows (where both sanitary and storm flow go through the same pipes) from an area of 375 square miles. Remember when I wrote about all the poop in the Chicago River? This would help alleviate that from happening. When it rains a decent amount, all of the impervious surfaces of the city (roads, sidewalks, buildings) keep the rain from seeping back into the ground, causing it to run off into the city’s combined sewers. The station is part of the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan which is designed to eliminate waterway pollution caused by combined sewer overflows and provide an outlet for flood waters. Phase I of TARP, intended primarily for pollution control, is made up of four distinct tunnel systems including Mainstream. It consists of 31 miles of tunnels 240 to 300 feet below ground.  Sewage and stormwater entering the tunnels are carried to the Mainstream Pumping Station, where it is pumped to Stickney Water Reclamation Plant, the largest wastewater treatment plant IN THE WORLD. The McCook Reservoir is currently under construction and, when completed, will have a total capacity of 10 billion gallons. It will be as long as 17 Soldier Fields stacked side by side (or it was 11, can’t recall exactly what the tour guide said!). When fully completed in 2029, the McCook Reservoir will provide more than $143 million per year in flood damage reduction benefits to 3,100,000 people in 37 communities.

McCook Reservoir will be ready to handle stormwater by the end of 2017. So here is an easier explanation of how this works:

1. It rains a lot

2. The rain runs over sidewalks and roads and into the sewers

3. When enough stormwater enters the sewers it can combine with the sewage sewer, resulting in a combined sewer overflow

4. To prevent this, the stormwater drops into deep underground tunnels

5. The water travels to a reservoir like McCook

6. The reservoir acts as a giant holding tank where stormwater is held until the water treatment plant has the capacity to handle it

7. When it does, the Mainstream Pumping Station will pump the water to the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant

8. The water is treated

9. The treated water is released into the waterway

10. Flooding and CSOs are prevented

That’s it!
https://wastenotwantnot.wordpress.com/2017/10/16/where-does-that-water-go-when-it-rains-a-lot/amp/

“The MWRD of Greater Chicago and breweries Goose Island, Revolution Brewing, and Half Acre partner with 1212 Environmental,” EIN NewsDesk
Summary: The MWRD of Greater Chicago (MWRD) has begun an enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) program and is seeking high strength organic materials (HSOM) to make it effective. They have partnered with 1212 Environmental, which specializes in fully managed waste reduction & recycling programs, to deliver the HSOM to the MWRD. Rather than haul waste miles away to landfills and dumping grounds, area breweries & companies are discovering a local destination to send it to at the MWRD for a beneficial re-use that protects regional waterways from unwanted nutrients. Local breweries, including Goose Island Beer Company, Revolution Brewing and Half Acre have partnered with 1212 Environmental to deliver spent yeast to the MWRD. The spent yeast will promote the MWRD’s resource recovery model as a tool for the MWRD to improve and stabilize the EBPR process during water treatment. This process will lead to increased phosphorus recovery and cleaner waterways and allow local businesses a chance to partner with the MWRD to keep their waste hauls local and serve an integral role in protecting the environment. For more information or interest in participating, contact 1212 Environmental at 630-529-0240 or at ryan@1212environmental.com, or the MWRD at (312) 751-3044 or at BioP@mwrd.org. Documents required for enrollment can be downloaded from the MWRD’s website at www.mwrd.org, under Business with Us > Resource Recovery. 1212 Environmental & North Branch Environmental are a division of 1212 Group, LLC.
https://www.einpresswire.com/article/408938118/the-mwrd-of-greater-chicago-breweries-goose-island-revolution-brewing-half-acre-partner-with-1212-environmental

"10 neighborhood gems we 'discovered' in honor of Columbus Day," DNA Info
Summary: The great thing about living in a city like Chicago is that you can discover something new about the city's neighborhoods every day.  In honor of Columbus Day, we rounded up some things we "discovered" over the years — even though they've been there all along (or at least longer than we have).

Chicago's last waterfall 

Chicago's only "waterfall" won't be around much longer, but we're glad we realized it existed so we can say goodbye!  The "waterfall" on the west side of River Park in Albany Park is actually a concrete dam. It was built in 1910 by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and created a 4-foot drop where the North branch of the Chicago River flows into the North Shore Channel. As part of a proposed habitat improvement project along the Chicago River, which was unveiled in March by the Army Corps of Engineers, the dam will be replaced by a series of man-made "riffle" pools — sections where the river will stream over rocks and create movement that mimics rapids. Work could start as early as winter 2018 and continue through 2020.
https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20171009/downtown/7-neighborhood-gems-we-discovered-honor-of-columbus-day

“The MWRD of Greater Chicago's Nutrient Recovery Facility Earns Top Honor From Water Environment Federation,” Water Online
The MWRD of Greater Chicago's Nutrient Recovery Facility at Stickney Water Reclamation Plant improves local waterways by significantly reducing waterway phosphorus levels through recovery and reuse of vital nutrients
The world's largest nutrient recovery facility that improves water quality of the Chicago Area Waterway System while reducing downstream phosphorus discharges into the Gulf of Mexico has won a coveted Project Excellence Award from the Water Environment Federation (WEF). The honor will be presented to the project's owner, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD); Black & Veatch, the facility's design-builder; and technology provider, Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies. The project was instrumental in transitioning the largest wastewater treatment facility in the world —the MWRD's Stickney Water Reclamation Plant, located in Cicero, Illinois — into a resource recovery facility. Using Ostara's nutrient recovery technology, Black & Veatch worked with the MWRD and Ostara to design and build the nutrient recovery facility, which is reducing nutrient loads to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, Des Plaines River, Illinois River, and ultimately the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico. "We are extremely honored to have received this recognition from WEF and have been fortunate to partner with the MWRD of Greater Chicago and Black & Veatch to build the largest nutrient recovery facility in the world, providing a cost effective and environmentally progressive solution to support the MWRD's clean water mandate," said Dan Parmar, President and CEO of Ostara. "This solution will ultimately help protect the Mississippi River Basin and provide a revenue stream to the District from the sale of the high value phosphorus fertilizer recovered." The differentiator with Ostara's nutrient recovery solution implemented at the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant is that not only does it reduce phosphorus loads within the operational system of the plant by recovering these nutrients into a high value, marketable fertilizer, but nutrient loads are also reduced downstream into the Mississippi River to help address phosphorus deposits in the Gulf. "The MWRD is thrilled to receive the Project Excellence Award from the Water Environment Federation. We thank our partners at Black & Veatch and Ostara for helping us achieve this honor and developing the innovations that protect our environment and benefit our taxpayers," said MWRD President Mariyana Spyropoulos. "The nutrient recovery facility represents cleaner waterways locally and abroad, creates an instant revenue stream, provides for the agricultural community and aids the planet in facing a scarcity of phosphorus and reducing harmful algae blooms." Designed to treat up to 1.44 billion gallons of water each day and serving more than 2.3 million residents including the central part of Chicago and 46 suburban communities, the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant is pioneering this critical industry shift from water treatment to recovery for reuse. "This facility richly illustrates how innovation combined with decades of water and wastewater treatment expertise can produce new efficiencies as well as wins for the environment," said Mike Orth, Executive Managing Director for the Americas in Black & Veatch's water business. "We are honored to be recognized by WEF and to be partnered with Ostara and the MWRD." The award will be presented during WEF's Annual Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC 2017), the world's largest annual water quality conference and exhibition, Sept. 30-Oct. 4 in Chicago. Based in Alexandria, Virginia, WEF bestows the annual Project Excellence Award to outstanding programs and product execution in the water sector. Among other criteria, projects are evaluated on innovation, sustainability and community benefit.
https://www.wateronline.com/doc/the-mwrd-of-greater-chicago-nutrient-water-environment-federation-0001

"Bernard Stone Park helps Make Chicago a 'two waterfront city,' Mayor says," DNA Info
City officials gathered Wednesday to officially dedicate a West Ridge parking lot-turned-green space to former Ald. Bernard "Berny" Stone, calling it a "special" place that will welcome visitors to Chicago from the north. "All the parks in the 50th Ward are beautiful, but I feel that this one is special because it is what is seen first at the gateway to our 50th Ward, and to the wonderful city of Chicago," said Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th) during the ribbon-cutting ceremony, alongside Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Park District CEO Mike Kelly. It was a "very exciting day" for the "long-awaited" project to come to fruition, Silverstein said, adding it was "wonderful for the community and has transformed an old crumbling lot into beautiful green space." The passive green space, which consists of fitness stations, benches, landscaping, and soon a new sculpture, now connects an existing walking and bike path along the North Shore Channel all the way from Lawrence Avenue in Albany Park, to Green Bay Road in Evanston.  Emanuel said the park and its use as a crucial link to Chicago's smaller waterways was a big step in the city's larger goal of "Building on Burnham" and bolstering its parks. "To take our river and make it part of our recreational park system, this investment, this ribbon-cutting today, is the first true installation of that effort," the mayor said. "[It] makes us truly a two-waterfront city." The park is owned by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District but leased by the Park District. Last year, the City Council approved using tax increment financing to fund a restoration of the land, which hugs the North Shore Channel between Lincoln and Kedzie avenues and Devon Avenue and McCormick Road on the border of North Park and West Ridge near suburban Lincolnwood. The park sits just north of the Lincoln Village shopping center, where Stone had a ward office during a chunk of his 38 years serving the far north side of town. He was unseated by Silverstein in 2011 and died at the age of 87 in 2014. Family of Stone's was present at Wednesday's ceremony, and Silverstein called the park a "fitting tribute to [Stone's] decades of service."
https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20171004/west-ridge/bernard-stone-park-helps-make-chicago-two-waterfront-city-mayor-says

“Community Service Project Creates Water Legacy,” WEFTEC Daily

In a vibrant and enduring example of a water legacy, more than 220 enthusiastic volunteers joined forces in Saturday’s 10th annual Water Environment Federation (WEF) Community Service Project. Participants included members of the WEF Student and Young Professionals Committee (SYPC), organizers of the event, as well as additional volunteers from the WEF House of Delegates and Board of Trustees, according to Caroline Pakenham, association engagement manager of SYPC.  “This is all done by WEF students and young professionals and our partners … and it’s just amazing to see the community of people that come together to do this,” Pakenham said. “The fact that they are so passionate about doing this and put this much work into it is just absolutely incredible, and we can’t thank them enough.” This year’s effort, “Manierre’s Sustainable Stormwater Project,” took place at Chicago’s Manierre Elementary School, where volunteers spent the day constructing a bioswale with native plants and a permeable outdoor classroom area. The existing asphalt playground experienced flooding issues, explained project chair Anthony Giovannone.  “They did some work on the drain to mitigate it, but we took it to the next level and we’re actually turning the impervious surface into a pervious one,” he said. “We’re doing that through basically three means. We have a native garden area that will retain some water. We also have an outdoor classroom with permeable pavers and a retention area underneath it, and also a bioswale.” Giovannone said the committee begins work on the following year’s service project as the current WEFTEC® concludes, and plans over the entire year.  Project proposals solicited from the host location generate four or five potential sites, with the committee using established criteria to select the project. Manierre Elementary was a compelling winner this year, he said, because of staff commitment and engagement, and because they had a water-related issue with clear need. Giovannone expressed amazement at the amount of support they receive for the project from sponsors, donors and partners such as the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and the Department of Water Management.  “It shocks me how willing they are to participate,” he said. After the project is complete, a maintenance fund supports followup to assist in caring for the site, Giovannone said. In a coordinated water education effort, the day prior to the project saw volunteers conducting the WaterPalooza event at the school, during which groups of students traveled to stations featuring hands-on activities teaching the value of water and the local water environment. The event teaches students about several specific areas of the water quality industry, Giovannone said, and the service project reinforces those concepts. Giovannone highlighted three goals of this project: to impact water quality and the community and do something that benefits their water environment; to create community awareness of the value of water; and to serve as inspiration. “I think it’s our water legacy as students and young professionals to inspire the next generation of water quality professionals,” he said. Volunteer Maria Reed was involved in the project’s planning and was instrumental in plant selection for the endeavor. “I understood this was a big project, but not until I got here did I understand the dimension of it, the impact it’s going to have on the students,” she said. Because the students will have a role in maintaining the gardens, she added, “it has aspects of STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics] for students to see if they like it and if this is something they could pursue in the future.” Speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, WEF president Rick Warner echoed that concept. “The project that we’re sitting right next to here is not only beautiful, but it’s going to hopefully inspire young professionals and young students about environmental stewardship in a place to learn and grow their minds,” he said, “much like these beautiful plants and flowers are going to grow as well.”
https://www.weftec.org/globalassets/assets-weftec/1---about/weftec-daily/w17_daily_tuesday_lores.pdf

“The MWRD Of Greater Chicago's Nutrient Recovery Facility Earns Top Honor From Water Environment Federation,” WaterOnline
Summary: The world's largest nutrient recovery facility that improves water quality of the Chicago Area Waterway System while reducing downstream phosphorus discharges into the Gulf of Mexico has won a coveted Project Excellence Award from the Water Environment Federation (WEF). The honor will be presented to the project's owner, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD); Black & Veatch, the facility's design-builder; and technology provider, Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies. The project was instrumental in transitioning the largest wastewater treatment facility in the world —the MWRD's Stickney Water Reclamation Plant, located in Cicero, Illinois — into a resource recovery facility. Using Ostara's nutrient recovery technology, Black & Veatch worked with the MWRD and Ostara to design and build the nutrient recovery facility, which is reducing nutrient loads to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, Des Plaines River, Illinois River, and ultimately the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico.
https://www.wateronline.com/doc/the-mwrd-of-greater-chicago-nutrient-water-environment-federation-0001

“Guest Viewpoint,” Beverly Review

By MWRD President Mariyana Spyropoulos
We are just weeks removed from the onset of two of the most intense hurricanes to hit American soil, and while we are months—even years—away from comprehending the true level of destruction that they leveled on our southern border, the picture coming into focus is one of utter devastation. Chicago has experienced its share of storms, but its residents have benefited from the city’s geographical location in avoiding anything near comparison to what our neighbors on the coasts have experienced all too often. However, the question should be asked: are we ready? What if Harvey hit here? What if an Irma-like storm pummeled Chicago? And at a time when we are rapidly approaching the daunting intersection of environmental responsibility, scientific evidence and economic investment decisions, it is a question that we need to ask much sooner than later. During the height of Hurricane Harvey, nearly 40 inches of rain fell in a period of three days. That is close to the entire annual average for that area. Overall, it is estimated that over 20 trillion gallons of water fell on the state of Texas. In Harris County alone, over 500 square miles were under water. Combined, there have been at least 100 fatalities reported related to the two storms. In Texas, 30,000 people have been permanently displaced from their homes. In Florida, 6.5 million people were evacuated. In Texas, experts are estimating up to $75 billion in economic costs related to the storm in what is being called a “many-year” recovery. Are we ready? The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) is constantly monitoring weather patterns so that any major storm would not hit us by surprise. MWRD engineers have multiple tools to prepare our system for intense rainfall. First, they begin drawing the river system down to the minimum elevation, which is -4 feet from lake level. This allows for maximum retention in our waterways. Next, our seven treatment plants go into maximum production. Pumps located 30 feet below the ground start draining sewers throughout the county, again providing as much space as possible to hold and convey stormwater in our system. This would include emptying our Deep Tunnel—a system of 109 miles of 30-foot diameter pipe that can hold 2 billion gallons of water—and our three reservoirs, which currently can hold approximately 10 billion more gallons. When the storm hits, the system won’t take long to fill. In addition to maximizing our plants, tunnels and reservoirs, MWRD would begin pumping stormwater directly into the Ship and Sanitary Canal. In extreme cases, with both the discharge and the rainfall increasing elevation on the river system, locks are opened in order to relieve water into Lake Michigan and save downtown Chicago from being completely under water. The lake, with its vast dimensions, would not be in any danger of overflowing, but with wind speeds nearing 100 mph, waves would be crashing onto Lake Shore Drive, as we have seen before in Chicago. The largest issue, as we see in any rain event, is conveyance. Local sewers simply cannot carry water fast enough to move it into the MWRD system. Imagine draining a swimming pool with a straw. The analogy shows the difference between the amounts of water we would receive in a 500-year storm and the size of the pipes used to drain it. With double-digit rainfall, nearly the entire county would be plagued with flooded streets and basement backups. In addition to sewer back-ups and slow-draining water, much of Cook County—particularly the suburban areas surrounding the Chicago—would experience significant over-bank flooding. In all, the Cook County region would experience over $200 million in damage, with economic loss in the billions. It would be a devastating event with long-reaching consequences. The MWRD has done much to prepare for intense rain events, but nearly every year, some area of the county suffers flooding due to intense rainfall. The truth is that we can never be fully prepared for catastrophic storms. However, with smart investment, we can help reduce the effects of those storms on the residents of Cook County. We need to look at our undersized and outdated infrastructure. Sewers built 100 years ago cannot convey large amounts of water fast enough. Given the unreliability of our aging infrastructure, it is important for us to find more creative ways to capture stormwater before it enters our system. This is where green infrastructure comes in. Rain gardens, permeable pavement, rain barrels, green roofs: while individually these technologies have minimal impact, when implemented on a wide scale, they can act as additional means of water detention and drainage. Development is essential to our economic growth, but simply paving over our greenspace with concrete and asphalt eliminates the porous areas of Cook County that absorb rainwater. Unlike Houston, the MWRD enacted the Water Management Ordinance in 2013. It mandates developers to take water runoff and detention into account when building. We need to continue to engage the business community to do its part to protect against intense flooding. Finally, we must accept that climate change is real and that we have the responsibility to operate in a manner that reduces its effects. That means being smarter about how we create and consume energy as well as enacting policies and regulations that protect our environment. The bottom line is that it’s no longer a question of “if” a 500-year storm will come to Chicago, but rather “when.” Will we be ready?
http://www.beverlyreview.net/opinion/guest_editorials/article_b27a8608-a853-11e7-b006-77dde4292cb0.html

“The MWRD of Greater Chicago’s Nutrient Recovery Facility earns Top Honor from Water Environment Federation,” Globe Newswire
Summary: The world’s largest nutrient recovery facility that improves water quality of the Chicago Area Waterway System while reducing downstream phosphorus discharges into the Gulf of Mexico has won a coveted Project Excellence Award from the Water Environment Federation (WEF). The honor will be presented to the project’s owner, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD); Black & Veatch, the facility’s design-builder; and technology provider, Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies. The project was instrumental in transitioning the largest wastewater treatment facility in the world —the MWRD’s Stickney Water Reclamation Plant, located in Cicero, Illinois — into a resource recovery facility.  Using Ostara’s nutrient recovery technology, Black & Veatch worked with the MWRD and Ostara to design and build the nutrient recovery facility, which is reducing nutrient loads to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, Des Plaines River, Illinois River, and ultimately the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico.
https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/10/02/1138787/0/en/The-MWRD-of-Greater-Chicago-s-Nutrient-Recovery-Facility-earns-Top-Honor-from-Water-Environment-Federation.html

“Manierre Elementary School Builds Outdoor Classroom,”CBS Chicago
The playground of a school on the near north side got a makeover Saturday, designed to give students a more interactive learning experience. Natalie Cook is vice chair of the project, spending its 10th anniversary at Manierre Elementary School. “The playground they have right now is basically just a concrete block,” she said. “We’re building a 900 square-foot, permeable paved area. It’s going to be an outdoor classroom that has the ability to retain some of the rainwater that falls on it.” Cook said the outdoor classroom was only the beginning. “Alongside of the green classroom, there’s going to be a bioswale to collect a lot of the rainwater and then a prairie native planting area,” Cook said. “They’ll be able to see the plants that are in their area.” Volunteers from the Water Environment Federation and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago got to work early, digging and moving gravel over parts of the playground.  Past chair, Tim Moran, said similar events around the country have gotten rave reviews from students, and he’s expecting the same here. “They’re going to be able to sit on this outdoor space, enjoy the native plantings and see the storm water infiltrations.” Moran added that he hopes students will take small steps that will help in protecting the environment.
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/09/30/manierre-elementary-school-builds-outdoor-classroom/

“The Chicago River Edge Ideas Lab Helps Architects Envision a Revived Waterfront,” Gadgets 360

Highlights:

• The River Edge Ideas Lab is a public design exhibition
• Chicago selected 9 architects for ideas on restoring public spaces
• GIS, Lidar, CAD allow vast projects to start from real world conditions

Lately, the Chicago River has become a much more inviting place. Kayaks, water taxis, and tour boats populate a channel once dominated by industrial barges. People take lunch on the sculptural staircase and timber benches of the newly expanded Riverwalk, a graceful promenade designed by global design firm Sasaki and local architecture studio Ross Barney Architects. Farther along, in pockets of reconstructed shoreline, tall grasses rustle, boathouses launch rowboats and canoes, and waterfront trails and transit corridors extend into the city’s neighborhoods. Enhanced treatment processes and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago’s (MWRD) Tunnel and Reservoir Plan have eliminated odors and allowed fish to flourish—up to 76 species in 2016, up from just 10 in 1974, according to a MWRD’s June report. Still, there’s an opportunity to do more, says Josh Ellis, vice president of the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC), a partner in Chicago’s River Edge Ideas Lab. “There are long stretches of the river along the North and South Branch that we haven’t figured out what to do with, large industrial areas that have historically been good for jobs, but where there isn’t much going on now. People, to their credit, are taking a look at opportunities to modernize and update these river corridors,” he says.
http://m.gadgets.ndtv.com/others/features/chicago-river-edge-ideas-lab-1756796

“New partnership between LIFT and Current create Chicagoland water technology opportunities,” Water Online
Two of the nation’s leading water innovation organizations launched a new partnership to speed the commercialization of promising new water technologies. Today, the Water Environment Federation and the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF) announced a new affiliate partnership with Current through the Leaders Innovation Forum for Technology (LIFT) program. This new partnership creates opportunities for promising water technologies identified by LIFT to be validated through Current’s newly launched Demonstration program. The partnership links LIFT’s Technology Scan process, which identifies new innovations, with Current’s robust validation platform. Together, LIFT and Current will leverage their combined capabilities to thoroughly evaluate and help commercialize the innovations needed to improve water treatment and delivery across the U.S. LIFT Affiliates connect regional resources with LIFT’s national scope to accelerate innovation. With Chicago-based Current as an affiliate, LIFT can tap Current’s world class research and utility assets that include Argonne National Laboratory, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois, as well as demonstration sites at the world’s largest water filtration and wastewater treatment facilities at the Chicago Department of Water Management and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. The Current Demonstration program validates innovative technologies through a structured and comprehensive process. Current rigorously analyzes the technical and economic merits of new innovative technologies, assesses market potential, and helps refine the business case to reduce product development risk and speed time to market. LIFT Technology Scans identify and evaluate innovative technologies to inform water facility owners, funders, advisors, and end users in order to promote early adoption of the technologies. Together, the partners offer technology providers an optimal platform to introduce their emerging, pre-commercial, and newly commercialized technologies. LIFT is a joint initiative of the Water Environment Federation and the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF) designed to accelerate adoption of innovative water technologies. Current leverages Chicago’s world-class utilities, research institutions, industries, and innovation community for global environmental and economic impact. More information on Current, LIFT, and WE&RF are available on the websites below.

About The Water Environment & Reuse Foundation
The Water Environment & Reuse Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization, funds research, pilot projects, and technology demonstrations that maximize the value of water, including wastewater, stormwater, and other water sources. WE&RF is recognized worldwide as a trusted source of innovation and peer-reviewed research in wastewater, water reuse, and resource recovery. For more information, visit www.werf.org. Current delivers advanced research and market-driven innovations to meet the world’s water needs. Current bridges gaps in the water solutions ecosystem to develop, validate, and commercialize innovations for greater environmental and economic sustainability. For more information, visit www.currentwater.org.

SOURCE: The Water Environment & Reuse Foundation
https://www.wateronline.com/doc/new-partnership-lift-current-create-chicagoland-water-technology-opportunities-0001

“U.S. Rep. Kelly to hold annual job fair at South Suburban College,” Daily Southtown

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly will hold a job fair Oct. 27 at South Suburban College in South Holland.

Summary: Against a backdrop of stubbornly high jobless rates in some areas of her district, U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly will hold a job fair from 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 27 at South Suburban College in South Holland. Some 80 employers are expected to participate, including UPS, ComEd, the U.S. Postal Service, Pace, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District as well as a number of retailers, according to Kelly's office. Pre-registration is encouraged, and job seekers can register at www.reprobinkelly.eventbrite.com. For more information about the event, call Alan Banks or Jazmin Alvarez at (708) 679-0078 or visit www.robinkelly.house.gov.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/news/ct-sta-robin-kelly-job-fair-st-0924-20170922-story.html

“NACWA Testifies at House Hearing on Water Infrastructure Needs,” National Association of Clean Water Agencies

NACWA’s Vice President and Executive Director of the Chicago Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), David St. Pierre, testified today on behalf of NACWA before the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment at a hearing titled, Building a 21^st Century Infrastructure for America: Water Infrastructure Stakeholder Perspectives.  The purpose of the hearing was to gather stakeholder perspectives on legislative proposals on key water issues, particularly in the arenas of funding and regulatory reform. St. Pierre’s testimony highlighted the many water infrastructure needs facing public clean water utilities around the nation, and emphasized the importance of strong federal funding to help address these needs.  He noted NACWA’s desire for increased funding to the State Revolving Funds (SRFs) and the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program, advanced support for a low-income water assistance program, and underscored in very clear terms why water infrastructure must be a significant part of any comprehensive national infrastructure package. St. Pierre also touched on the growing interest within the water sector around various types of partnerships, including “public-public” and “public-private” partnerships, that can help advance clean water – particularly for small utilities where there are opportunities for economies of scale, or for sharing of resources and expertise.  Other parts of NACWA’s testimony touched on the drive to incorporate integrated planning concepts into the Clean Water Act (CWA), and the potential of extending CWA discharge permit terms beyond five years. NACWA appreciates the fact that the Subcommittee looks to the Association and its members for input into the establishment of national clean water policy.  Other witnesses testifying at the hearing were:

• David W. Pedersen, P.E., General Manager, Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, on behalf of the Association of California Water Agencies and the California Association of Sanitation Agencies (Las Virgenes Municipal Water District is also a NACWA Member)
• Hector Gonzalez, Government Affairs Manager, El Paso Water Utilities (El Paso Water Utilities is also a NACWA Member)
• James M. Proctor, II, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, McWane, Inc. (will also speak to shared concepts developed by an ad hoc water sector coalition with which NACWA is closely involved)
• The Honorable Joy Cooper, Mayor, City of Hallandale Beach, Florida, on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Mayors
• Christopher Franklin, President and CEO, Aqua America, on behalf of the National Association of Water Companies
• Lawrence Levine, Senior Attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council

Similar hearings on other infrastructure sectors will be held this month as part of a formal effort in the House to gather input for a potential infrastructure package. A recorded video of the hearing is available here. Contact Kristina Surfus, NACWA Legislative Affairs Director, to discuss the hearing or congressional efforts on infrastructure issues.
http://www.nacwa.org/news-publications/clean-water-current-archives/clean-water-current/2017/09/26/nacwa-testifies-at-house-hearing-on-water-infrastructure-needs?utm_source=Real%20Magnet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=117440813

“Chicago program recovers nutrients from local breweries,” Water & Wastes Digest

Read more here.

"Would you swim in the Chicago River? Some city officials did," FOX News Chicago

About a dozen elected officials made waves Saturday morning by jumping into the Chicago River. Organizers said the "Big Jump" highlights the work that has been done to improve the river's water quality and make it swimmable. It took place at Ping Tom Memorial Park.
http://www.fox32chicago.com/news/local/would-you-swim-in-the-chicago-river-some-city-officials-did-today
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/09/16/preckwinkle-other-officials-jump-in-chicago-river/

“New West Ridge Park Named For Late Ald. Bernard 'Berny' Stone,” DNA Info

A park along the North Shore Channel Trail will be named after former Ald. Bernard Stone (50th).
DNAinfo/Linze Rice; Facebook

Summary: A 1.8 acre plot at the corner of McCormick Road and Devon Avenue known as Park No. 526 finally has a name: Bernard Stone Park. The Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners unanimously approved Wednesday a plan to rename the land in honor of the late longtime 50th Ward alderman, "Berny" Stone, who governed the Far North Side for 38 years before being unseated by Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th) in 2011. With the support of several neighborhood groups, Silverstein proposed the name change in June, which initiated a 45-day period to gather feedback. "As someone who knew Berny Stone, I am so pleased to move this," said Avis Lavelle, a commissioner on the board. Stone died at age 87 in 2014, but left a legacy in his ward and at City Hall.  He worked for the Cook County Sheriff's Office and was vice president of the 50th Ward Regular Democratic Organization. He ran for 50th Ward alderman in 1973 and was the first Democrat to represent the ward, which includes West Ridge and North Park, since 1955. In true Chicago form, Stone was noted by the proposal's sponsors as being "outspoken and loyal to friends." In Gary Rivlin's book on the Mayor Harold Washington years, "Fire on the Prairie," he wrote that Stone also had a reputation as something of a clubhouse lawyer at City Hall. "Fred Roti and Bernard Stone regularly held court in the press room," Rivlin wrote. "Strolling from desk to desk reading over shoulders as reporters worked on their articles, they offered comments and arguments." 

A look at the park's planned features, such as trees and benches. [Provided/Ald. Debra Silverstein]

The park is owned by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District but leased by the Park District.
https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170914/west-ridge/alderman-bernard-stone-berny-park-renamed-526-mccormick-road-devon-avenue

“Schakowsky, Preckwinkle, other officials to jump in Chicago River on Saturday,” North Loop News

The pavilion at Ping Tom Memorial Park along south branch of Chicago River.

At least 12 officials representing city, county, state, and federal government will jump into the Chicago River on Saturday morning for a fund-and-awareness-raising event hosted by Friends of the Chicago River. The officials include Jan Schakowsky, United States Representative for Illinois’s 9th congressional district, and Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board President. “They have agreed to do this,” confirmed Joanne So Young Dill, Director of Strategic Initiatives for Friends of the Chicago River, on Tuesday. The list also includes Robert Kaplan, the Environmental Protection Agency’s acting regional administrator, State Treasurer Mike Frerichs, two state representatives, the executive director and three Metropolitan Water Reclamation District commissioners, City Clerk Anna Valencia, and 25th Ward Alderman Danny Solis. Friends of the Chicago River says the event on the south branch near Ping Tom Memorial Park, co-hosted by MWRD Commissioner Josina Morita, “will highlight the collective work done to improve the river’s water quality and to show our commitment to making the Chicago River swimmable for all Chicagoans.” Admission to the event is free and while the public is invited to watch, Friends of the Chicago River says they will not be allowed to jump into the river. http://www.loopnorth.com/news/jump0912.htm

“Group aims to blur state lines to build stronger Region,” Northwest Indiana Times
Summary: Some community and industry leaders believe finding solutions to long-standing problems, from redeveloping abandoned industrial sites to preserving the environment for future generations, requires a group effort. Organizers of a new initiative bring together representatives from Indiana and Illinois, including major corporations, government officials, preservation groups and various nonprofits. They believe pooling collective knowledge and leveraging resources is the best way to get something done. The idea is to bring together experts from Indiana and Illinois in a single group where best practices are shared, which may lead to solutions to benefit both states. The collaborative's advisory panel consists of 39 members who will meet quarterly. The group's first meeting was in July.  Conversations to launch the group began in December 2015, said Sarah Coutler, the collaborative's executive director. The group's name was derived from the Calumet watershed, which covers the Little Calumet and Grand Calumet rivers. Stakeholders soon realized collaboration would benefit communities in both states. The collaborative is focusing on brownfield redevelopment, conservation, wayfinding to guide residents around the area and creation of a Calumet National Heritage Area to showcase the Region, which is home to an abundance of natural assets in addition to heavy industry. The group hopes to foster common goals to build a stronger region. Numerous groups are addressing each of the collaborative's main focus areas. The goal is to take the work being done by those organizations, then find the best practices to develop action plans. Committees will report back to the main board during their quarterly meetings. The collaborative is working toward establishing benchmarks to measure progress. For now, the collaborative and its two paid staff members are supported by The Chicago Community Trust, ArcelorMittal Foundation and the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, but it is seeking nonprofit status, to enable it to pursue other funding sources. Note: The MWRD is a member of the Calumet Collaborative.
http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/group-aims-to-blur-state-lines-to-build-stronger-region/article_8ff19894-548c-5a68-8774-fac235c2d655.html

“Mayor Emanuel Keynotes Global Water Technology Conference in Tel Aviv,” ENews Park Forest

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel

Mayor Rahm Emanuel today delivered the opening keynote address at the 2017 Water Technology and Environmental Control Exhibition & Conference (WATEC) in Tel Aviv. During the address, he called for global cities to find innovative solutions to water scarcity and announced Chicago-based Current’s new programs to drive advanced water research and technology innovations. The Mayor also highlighted the City of Chicago’s commitment to innovation, international partnerships, and economic development as strategies to address global water needs. “Water scarcity is a large-scale challenge today that will evolve into a global crisis without a coordinated, concerted effort,” Mayor Emanuel said. “We need global cities working to find technology solutions because a rising tide of innovation lifts all people and all nations.” Mayor Emanuel announced new partnerships between Chicago and Israel that will create research and commercial opportunities. The agreements between Current, Chicago’s water research and technology innovation platform, and The Technion Israel Institute for Technology, Mekorot (Israel’s national water utility) and NewTech (Israel’s national clean tech program) deepen existing ties between Chicago and Israel to advance next-generation water innovations. In addition the Chicago Department of Water Management (CDWM) and Mekorot signed a Memorandum of Understanding for information sharing and partnership on new water strategies. “With the world’s largest water treatment plants and a history of water engineering breakthroughs, Chicago is uniquely positioned to lead the world in water tech innovation,” Steve Frenkel, Executive Director of Current said. “Through Current we’re leveraging the global reach of Chicago’s research, technology and economic might to solve the world’s toughest water problems.” Current, a non-profit based in Chicago, this week unveiled three core programs to deliver advanced water research and market-driven innovations to bridge gaps in the water solutions ecosystem. These programs form a powerful technology-to-market platform based on a new global center of excellence in water research and technology validation and commercialization programs. First, the Current Research program amplifies advanced research through the collective capabilities of Argonne National Laboratory, CDWM, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), Northwestern University, University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois. “We are delighted to join with our other founding members of Current in a consortium that will advance Chicago and its partners as leaders in water research, development, and commercialization for the betterment of mankind and the environment,” Jay Walsh, Vice President for Research at Northwestern University said. Second, Current’s Demonstration program validates water innovations to reduce technology development risk and speed time-to-market. Current independently assess the technical and economic merits and then pilot-tests innovative technologies through a network of utility and industrial sites that include CDWM and MWRD’s facilities. And third, the Current Connect program drives growth and scale of water innovation by connecting validated technologies with global networks of customers and investors. “Working with Current as an innovation partner gives us access to a pipeline of the vetted innovations we need as a 21st century utility,” MWRD Executive Director David St. Pierre said. “By validating technology, Current is filling a much-needed role in the water industry by providing a structured and comprehensive approach that enables promising innovations to gain market acceptance.” The keynote address is part of Mayor’s Emanuel’s trip to Israel to promote investment and innovation in Chicago. From Sept. 9 to 13 the Mayor is traveling with a delegation composed of academic and business leaders from across the Chicago area. Current launched in 2016 as a partnership of the City of Chicago, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and World Business Chicago. For more information on Current, visit currentwater.org
https://enewspf.com/2017/09/12/mayor-emanuel-keynotes-global-water-technology-conference-tel-aviv/

“Most work on Southland sewer line expected to be done by early December,” Daily Southtown

Much of the work involved in rehabbing a portion of the Calumet Intercepting Sewer in the southwest suburbs is expected to be completed in early December, with the entire project scheduled to wrap up next March. (Mike Nolan/Daily Southtown)

Much of the major work involved in rehabbing a section of the Calumet Intercepting Sewer in the southwest suburbs is scheduled to be completed in about three months, according to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. The sanitary sewer line serves communities, such as Tinley Park and Country Club Hills, and video inspection of the line by the district showed groundwater infiltration and some minor deterioration of concrete, according to the district. The project, which started in May, involves rehabbing about 2.6 miles of 60-inch sewer pipe, as well as 23 drop manholes and other work, according to the district. A contract worth about $13 million was awarded to Insituform Technologies. The project was financed through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund administered by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

Work to rehab a portion of the Calumet Intercepting Sewer in the southwest suburbs involves temporary pipes to carry sewage flow, such as these along 167th Street in Oak Forest. (Mike Nolan/Daily Southtown)

Rather than digging trenches and repairing or replacing damaged sections, the work Insituform is doing is called cured-in-place-pipe, essentially a liner inserted into the pipe, according to the district. The liner is comprised of felt and a resin material and once it is slid into the old pipe is cured using hot water, according to the district. Long stretches of pipes above ground along streets such as 167th and 175th are in place to allow bypass pumping of the sewer flow while the main interceptor is being rehabbed, according to the district. According to the contractor's time line, sections of pipe and pumps will be removed starting around mid-November and continuing into early December. The remainder of the work, including rehab of drop manholes, is scheduled to be finished next March. The original interceptor line was built in 1970 to provide an outlet to sanitary sewers serving parts of Tinley Park and Country Club Hills, according to the district. Residents who live near the line where work will be performed are being notified by the contractor in advance, who is working 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday on the project, according to the district.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/news/

“BGA’s Leven: How to keep Chicago’s sewage district clean of corruption,” BGA
By: Rachel L. Leven
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, which manages the Chicago area’s wastewater system, long has suffered from accusations of corruption and patronage. A former police officer for the district, Dennis Lawler, seemed to give legitimacy to those accusations in 2015 when he bragged over a police radio about sleeping and drinking on the job. He reminded a new officer that anyone working in the district got their job through powerful connections. While Lawlor audaciously continues to fight his dismissal in circuit court, MWRD officials have tried to learn from the scandal and move on. Two weeks ago, the district’s board of commissioners discussed, for the first time, the creation of the position of inspector general, which would be a historic move toward oversight and transparency. The MWRD has about 2,000 employees and a budget of more than $1.2 billion. It’s a government bigger than that of many cities and towns in Illinois. For an agency of this size and importance, setting up independent oversight should be a no-brainer. The MWRD has made improvements over the years to its wastewater treatment, water that makes its way into the Chicago River. At the same time, however, the district has blown millions of dollars on a single property dispute — who gets to use an alley outside its offices — and pays its employees among the highest average salaries of all public agencies in Illinois. Better oversight of the agency is not just a no-brainer — it’s an environmental and fiduciary imperative. Inspectors general are not just about calling out wrongdoers; misconduct, in fact, is often only a symptom of a wider problem. An IG’s job is also to uncover and recommend ways to fix that wider problem. Many years ago, the City of Chicago’s IG office found that an employee named Antionette Chenier had, over a number of years, embezzled hundreds of thousands of tax dollars. Chenier was fired and eventually pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges. That could have been the end of it, but the IG went further, helping the city to reform its weak billing and cash-management systems so that similar fraud could not happen again. IGs fight corruption and save money. In the course of 12 months, the Chicago IG identified an estimated $7 million in missed revenue or potential savings as a result of performance management audits and reviews unconnected to investigations. If the MWRD is going to create an inspector general’s office, it should be done right. The inspector general must be independent, legally empowered and adequately funded. An independent IG, for example, cannot be removed without cause, at the whim of the district. A legally empowered IG has independent subpoena power and is able to do what it needs to do — whether an investigation, audit or review — and go where it needs to go, across the district. An adequately funded IG has a professional staff with control of their own technology and a guaranteed minimum budget. Without these three elements, the office will not have credibility with the public or its own employees. The Chicago City Council tried this more limited approach recently when it created a shackled Legislative Office of Inspector General. Instead of settling into soft oversight, aldermen had to call a do-over and move to a fully empowered investigative inspector general. The Better Government Association encourages the MWRD’s board of commissioners to show the public that the district is committed to efficiency and accountability.
https://www.bettergov.org/news/bgas-leven-how-to-keep-chicagos-sewage-district-clean-of-corruption?rf=head&eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=fb8e0d08-3699-4bb6-9b38-3235cb359e28

“Chicago Mayor Emanuel Signs Water Research Deal With Israel’s Technion,” Hamodia (Israel)
YERUSHALAYIM - The Technion will work with Chicago to develop solutions to water problems in the U.S. and worldwide. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Sunday signed an agreement to drive collaboration and research between Chicago’s Current and the Technion. The Memorandum of Understanding will bring together Chicago academic and research institutions with Israel’s top public research university to develop solutions to global water challenges, the Technion said. Emanuel is currently in Israel, on a working visit to businesses, academic institutions and hospitals. The agreement establishes academic partnerships in areas of fundamental science and applied water research between the Technion and Current’s Research Consortium, which is comprised of Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois (Urban/Champaign), the University of Illinois (Chicago), the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and the Chicago Department of Water Management. The partnership will create a broad collaborative research platform between Current and the Technion, linking water research, technology development, commercialization, and deployment in industry and infrastructure, the Technion said. Current is a joint effort that brings together public and private partners from across the Chicago area to solve the toughest water challenges facing the nation and the globe. The effort is led by a partnership between the City of Chicago, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and World Business Chicago and is designed to leverage the strength of the Chicago region’s water industry to drive critical research forward and generate greater economic impact. Current and Emanuel said that they specifically sought to partner with Israeli institutions, and especially the Technion, because of Israel’s high level of expertise in water reclamation, recycling, desalination and purification. “This agreement helps us write the next chapter in the story of Israel and Chicago,” Emanuel said. “Working together to develop solutions to water challenges will strengthen economic development and protect public health “in both Israel and the U.S. and far beyond.” According to Steve Frenkel, Executive Director of Current, “This effort brings together world-class scientists to tackle the critical challenge of ensuring that people worldwide have the water they need. Leveraging the global reach of Current’s new research consortium will accelerate the science needed to deliver the water technology innovations society desperately needs.” “Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel arrived at the Technion with an important and significant vision: the establishment of international cooperation as a platform for solving the global water shortage,” said the Technion’s Executive Vice President for Research, Prof. Wayne D. Kaplan. “This collaboration brings together leading academic bodies and key organizations in Chicago, including Current, and I have no doubt that we are laying the foundation for a long-term cooperation that will benefit not only the Technion and Chicago, and not only Israel and the United States, but all of humanity.”
http://hamodia.com/2017/09/11/chicago-mayor-emanuel-signs-water-research-deal-technion/

“Windy City seeks deeper ties with Startup Nation on technology,” Times of Israel
“Chicago has the most diversified economy in the US and the world,” Emanuel told a gathering of entrepreneurs and representatives of Israel’s high-tech industry on Monday. The aim of the visit is to see how Chicago’s “diversity, size and scale” can tap into Israeli innovation and make sure that US companies “embrace disruption” and don’t fear it, he said. Chicago is keen to highlight its growing role in advancing water technology innovation and conservation through its Current’s Research Consortium, a non-profit group of academics and water institutions, set up by Emanuel. The consortium aims to create, test and validate new water technologies and includes Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and Chicago, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and the Chicago Department of Water Management. “We want to establish Chicago as a global center for water innovation and Israel is an essential partner because of what we can learn from Israel and what we can share with Israel,” said Steve Frenkel, the executive director of Current, at the sidelines of the meeting.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks with SOSA founders in Tel Aviv. To his right, in the white shirt, is SOSA CEO Uzi Scheffer, September 11, 2017 (Courtesy)

At the event in South Tel Aviv, organized by SOSA, a global network of tech innovation hubs that aims to showcase the best of Israel’s technology and match it with multinationals, startup companies pitched their technologies, while SOSA’s CEO Uzi Scheffer presented the Israeli technology eco-system to the gathering of foreign businessmen. “Chicago is an up and coming tech hub and has been mentioned in the media as a possible candidate to host Amazon’s second North American headquarters. The Windy City’s partnership with Tel Aviv can only help both cities tap into one another’s financial and creative assets, deepening their well of ingenuity and innovation,” said Scheffer. Startups that showcased their technologies to the US group included Water-Gen, which has developed a way to extract drinking water from air, MyndYou, which has created a data-driven platform to monitor Alzheimer’s patients; and Optibus, which uses artificial intelligence to make public transport more use friendly. In KPMG’s recently released “Global Technology Innovation Hubs” survey, Chicago ranked sixth out of the top ten rising global innovation hubs. Last year some $1.7 billion in venture funding was invested in 179 Chicago-based technology firms, and some 55 Chicago startups held exits in 2016, according to data provided by the City of Chicago. Total trade between Israel and the state of Illinois totaled $814 million in 2016.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/windy-city-seeks-deeper-ties-with-startup-nation-on-technology/

“MWRD’s massive stones, flood project mean dry homes near H-F,” Homewood Flossmoor Chronicle

MWRD engineers Adel Awad and Justin Kirk look over stones that mark the route of Cherry Creek, which is being rebuilt just north of H-F High School. Photos by Tom Houlihan/H-F Chronicle

For starters, let’s talk about the big slabs of limestone — they are officially known as J-hook pieces — that are being used to rebuild Cherry Creek as it meanders north from Homewood-Flossmoor High School. This summer, drivers along Governors Highway have seen stacks of stone at the staging area for the $4.1 million Cherry Creek flood control project, which the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) expects to complete this fall. Different types of stone were stored at the staging area next to H-F’s north parking lot along Governors Highway. Rip-rap is used to line the entrances to new culverts that were constructed this summer. “Riffle stones” are also being used to rebuild Cherry Creek north of the high school. They have two main sizes and can be as big as a soccer ball or as small as your fist. J-hook pieces need to be a minimum of one foot high by two feet wide by three feet long and weigh upwards of 800 pounds each. As Cherry Creek is rebuilt, the boulder-sized J-hook stones will play an important role in forming new contours for the stream. They will also help create pools for aquatic life on the creek, perhaps even fish. Adel Awad, an MWRD senior engineer, said 12 dump truck loads of stone are being used to rebuild the creek. Eight loads of riffle stone are going in place along with four loads of J-hook pieces. Most of the major work at the Cherry Creek project is already finished. Governors Highway was closed as a through road for eight weeks this summer. During that time, new culverts were built under H-F’s two entrances at Governors Highway, and also at the school’s pond at the South Building. Another culvert was built under Governors Highway at the north parking lot. A 48-inch pipe was constructed between the pond and Governors Highway. It replaces a 12-inch pipe that was not capable of handling water from the pond following heavy rains. That led to repeated flooding, especially to homes lying just south of the high school's North Building. MWRD engineer Justin Kirk led a Friday tour of the Cherry Creek project area. He said MWRD — which oversees the treatment of wastewater in much of the Chicago area — included Cherry Creek in a detailed watershed plan that, in part, focused on areas that were prone to chronic flooding. Planning for the project began in earnest after a cost-benefit study showed that work along Cherry Creek would eliminate flooding in nearby homes, Kirk said. In early 2016, the MWRD entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the village of Flossmoor and H-F High School District 233. Cherry Creek enters H-F property after crossing Kedzie Avenue from Coyote Run Golf Course. It travels underground to the pond and then enters the pipe to Governors Highway, which in the past has been a significant choke point. The creek continues in a pipe underneath Governors Highway, where water continues north in a culvert on the east side of the road. The water then travels back across Governors Highway through the culvert at H-F’s north parking lot. After that, the water continues along the creek in the area just behind Calvary Assembly of God Church. That’s where the creek is being rebuilt with the J-hook and riffle stone, and the MWRD project area ends just to the north. Construction crews this summer also built a swale between H-F’s North Building and Governors Highway. Following heavy rains, overflow water from the new 48-inch pipe will be diverted into the swale, Kirk said. “Most of the time we expect that it will be dry,” he said. Landscaping on both H-F property and in the area behind the church will begin this year. MWRD purchased 3.7 acres from the church and that area will be used for both the creek and water storage, Kirk said. MWRD will plant vegetation — trees, shrubs and grasses — in the rebuilt creek area that is best suited for effective water storage. Flossmoor will eventually take over the land behind the church, Kirk said. The village and high school district will be responsible for maintaining the project area once MWRD and its intergovernmental partners sign off on the work. After the project is completed, 16 homes in Flossmoor can be taken off federal flood plain maps. When that happens, the owners of those properties will no longer have to purchase costly flood plain insurance. Awad said MWRD agreed with the high school district to perform the bulk of the Cherry Creek work after H-F’s regular academic year ended. Still, he said, a number of students were attending summer school during construction and other programs were being conducted at H-F. “It was a challenge,” he said. “We knew we would have just eight weeks when Governors Highway would be closed. But we got it done.”

The stakes, and riffle stone within them, show where Cherry Creek is being rebuilt.

http://www.hfchronicle.com/article/2017/sep/10/mwrd%E2%80%99s-massive-stones-flood-project-mean-dry-homes-near-h-f

“Excellence In Operational And Design In Water Infrastructure Honored,” Water Online
The Water Environment Federation (WEF) proudly announces the 2017 WEF Awards recipients for operational and design excellence. These awards recognize individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the water environment profession. “The Water Environment Federation is extremely proud to honor these examples of top-of-industry excellence in operations and design,” said Eileen O’Neill, WEF Executive Director. The 2017 recipients for Operational and Design Excellence Awards are:
Collection Systems Award: Keith McCormack 
The Collection System Award is presented to an individual for contributions to the advancement of the state of the art wastewater collection. Keith McCormack has over 30 years of experience in the planning, design, construction, and regulatory compliance of municipal wastewater collection systems and treatment facilities. Keith maintains a wide-reaching influence throughout the industry and has continuously held leadership roles, both in title and in responsibility, for the past two decades with WEF and the Michigan Water Environment Association. 
Innovative Technology
Recognizes WEF Associate Members who have introduced new innovative products or services related to the construction, operation or maintenance of treatment facilities.
Wipes Ready Grinders - JWC Environmental
The JWC Wipes Ready Grinder design effectively handles the non-woven sheets that are more commonly referred to as modern trash which has been the scourge of industry for the last five to ten years.  This innovative product showed through trials that it can and will consistently remove this trash and eliminate the possibility of agglomerating again.
Aqua Assist - Drylet LLC
The Aqua Assist product proved through trials that it could potentially change the way wastewater plants are designed.  Using this product, the removal of organic compounds was increased significantly by providing a substrate for additional bacteria to populate.  The possibilities for this product could prove extremely beneficial for thousands of water reclamation facilities around the world.
HydroFLOW I Range Products (Powered by Hydropath technology); HydroFLOW USA LLC
The Hydroflow product powered by Hydropath showed to be extremely innovative with field data supporting the claims of removing struvite build up in pipelines.  This product could have an extreme benefit for many plants around the US struggling with this issue in their digesters and connecting pipes.
Morgan Operational Solutions Award: Peter M. Brown; TransAqua 
This award honors Philip F. Morgan, who served with distinction as professor of sanitary engineering at the State University of Iowa from 1948-1961. This award recognizes valuable contributions to the in-facility study and solution of operational problems. The sewage boat is a valuable contribution, solving a difficult operational problem and additionally, is a problem-solving innovation while saving money and improving safety. The sewage boat has broad application to other systems across the U.S and Canada.
Schroepfer Innovative Facility Design Medal: Completion of the Calumet Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) – Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
The Schroepfer Medal recognizes excellence in conceiving and directing the design of a project to achieve substantial cost savings or economic benefit, while achieving environmental objectives. The medal is in honor of George J. Schroepfer, WEF's third President, and an educator who stressed the economics in design of wastewater facilities. The Calumet TARP system provides a substantial capital and operating cost savings for each municipality served by the system by relieving the burden of constructing and operating individual systems to capture and treat CSOs to comply with regulations. In addition, the Calumet TARP system provides over $40M in annual flood damage savings as a benefit to the service area.
Water Quality Improvement Award: Completion of the Calumet Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) – Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
This award is presented annually to the water quality improvement program that best demonstrates significant, lasting, and measurable excellence in water quality improvement or in prevention of water quality degradation in a region, basin, or water body. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago’s Calumet Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) includes a 7.9-billion-gallon reservoir and 37 miles of deep tunnels, resulting in reduced flooding and elimination of combined sewer overflows for the 556,000 people it serves. In addition, the Calumet TARP project has resulted in increased dissolved oxygen levels, increased fish populations, and major increases in fish species.
WEF Project Excellence Award
WEF's annual Project Excellence Award pays tribute to excellence and innovation in the execution of projects and programs in the water sector.
Alexandria Renew Enterprises State-of-the-Art Nitrogen Upgrade Program
Awardees: Owner: Alexandria Renew Enterprises; Designer: CH2M; Construction Manager: Jacobs Engineering; Construction Manager at Risk: Clark Construction/Ulliman Schutte Joint Venture
AlexRenew recognized the opportunity to address pending regulations while also renewing their commitment to sustainability, innovation, and the surrounding community.  The resulting project included a Long-Range Planning Study through 2030, design, and construction of a $131M upgrade that is at the forefront of nutrient removal technology and engages the community like never before.
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) Stickney Water Reclamation Plant Nutrient Recovery Facility
Awardees: Owner:(MWRD); Design/Builder: Black & Veatch; Technology Provider: Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) partnered with Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies to implement a nutrient recovery system, and with Black & Veatch to design and construct the facility at the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant (WRP) in Cicero, Illinois.  The MWRD converted the 1.44 billion gallon per day Stickney WRP to biological phosphorus removal as one part of its nutrient management plan.
Riverhead, NY Water Resource Recovery Facility Upgrade and Reuse Program
Awardees: Owner: Town of Riverhead, NY/Riverhead Sewer District; Designer: H2M Architects + Engineers
The new Riverhead WRRF project cost $24M and included a 1.5 MGD ultrafiltration membrane bioreactor and reclamation system with a fully integrated wastewater reuse process train and golf course irrigation supply system. The upgraded WRRF is the first municipal reuse facility in New York State and was completed in time for the 2016 irrigation season, remaining within budget. The Town of Riverhead WRRF will reuse up to 100,000 gallons per day of in-plant wash water and makeup water each day for internal treatment facility equipment.  The WRRF also provides up to 450,000 gallons per day of reuse water for irrigation to the Indian Island Golf Course.
WEF Safety Award: Linden Water Resource Recovery Facility
This award is presented annually by WEF to an industry, municipality, organization, utility, or other entity engaged in the protection of the water environment to recognize the success of their efforts to promote safety and educate the water industry. The Linden Water Resource Recovery Facility has shown a top-down commitment to safety, including the employment of a dedicated safety manager, and received complimentary feedback from the insurance carrier.
The awards will be presented during WEFTEC 2017, the Federation’s 90th Annual Technical Exhibition and Conference, September 30 to October 4 in Chicago.
For more information, visit https://www.wef.org/awards.
About WEF
The Water Environment Federation is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization of 34,000 individual members and 75 affiliated Member Associations representing water quality professionals around the world. Since 1928, WEF and its members have protected public health and the environment. As a global water sector leader, our mission is to connect water professionals, enrich the expertise of water professionals, increase the awareness of the impact and value of water, and provide a platform for water sector innovation. For more information, visit www.wef.org.
https://www.wateronline.com/doc/excellence-in-operational-and-design-in-water-infrastructure-honored-0001

“MWRD: How a Story Map Made Data Sharing Easier,” ESRI
Summary: At 11a.m. today, Patrick Sendera, Sr. Application Administrator, Josh Domina, GIS Analyst, Marty Monaghan, GIS Analyst, and Jennifer Wasik, Supervising Aquatic Biologist, will be participating in a webinar to discuss their experience developing and implementing a story map. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) of Greater Chicago collects extensive water quality information from the Chicago area waterways. Much of this effort is unknown to the public. As the rivers have become cleaner and more people seek recreational opportunities in and near the waterways, there has been increased interest in the water quality data. MWRD knew they needed to provide the water quality data in an easy to access and easy to understand format. They chose to publish area waterway data online using a story map. Now they share water quality, fish monitoring, and continuous dissolved oxygen data, as well as pinpoint these data to a map of sampling stations. Join the webinar to hear about the development of their story map and how it has reduced time compiling reports and removed barriers to convenient public access. Click on the link to register.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtIZCI0JxR0

“Chicago Builds Underground Tunnel to Fight Flooding in Albany Park,” WTTW
In the Albany Park neighborhood on Chicago’s Northwest Side, the familiar saying is true: When it rains, it pours. But after heavy storms, the Chicago River’s North Branch, which cuts through the area, floods hundreds of homes. Flooding occurs at this part of the river when waters exceed 7 feet. This last occurred in 2013 and 2008, according to the National Weather Service. Sandbags have been the primary defense against the river, but the Chicago Department of Transportation is now constructing a permanent flood-fighting weapon: a massive underground tunnel to divert stormwater from the North Branch to the North Shore Channel, a man-made canal with more capacity. A channel at the river’s North Branch, just west of Gompers Park, will divert excess stormwater to an inlet shaft that drops 150 feet below ground into a mile-long tunnel under Foster Avenue. There, the stormwater will naturally flow east towards River Park, where it will be released into the North Shore Channel. The project is scheduled to be finished in spring 2018 and costs $70 million, paid for by funding from the federal, state and city governments, as well as the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.
http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/09/05/chicago-builds-underground-tunnel-fight-flooding-albany-park

“EDITORIAL: Lesson of Houston: Don’t water down Chicago’s flood rules,” Sun Times
Editorials 09/01/2017, 04:12pm

Des Plaines firefighters rescue a driver from his submerged and stalled car at the corner of Thatcher and River Road in 2013. | Al Podgorski~Chicago Sun-Times

When the boy in Dutch legend saw a small hole in a dike holding back a potential flood, he didn’t look for ways to make the breach bigger. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District should ponder that as it considers a proposal to weaken an ordinance designed to protect water quality and hold the line on flooding. When the MWRD’s Cook County Watershed Management Ordinance was unveiled in 2013 after years of negotiations, it was hailed an important step forward. Too often in heavy storms, basements flood and raw sewage overflows into waterways and Lake Michigan. The ordinance was designed to keep that from getting worse as the growing region is covered over by new buildings and more pavement. Unfortunately, the MWRD is considering weakening the ordinance in ways that would benefit developers rather than the environment. The agency should insist on more flood-proofing, not less. The devastation from Hurricane Harvey is a reminder that storms are getting stronger and metropolitan areas will have to deal with more water. Recently, communities along the Fox and Des Plaines rivers suffered heavy flooding. And neighborhoods throughout the Chicago area are vulnerable if they are hit by rainfall so heavy it overwhelms the drainage system. One unwise proposed change to the MWRD’s water management practices is to allow developers to begin construction before even obtaining approval for flood-control designs. Once soil has been moved around and concrete is in place, it will be difficult and costly to make changes. Opportunities to better handle storm water will be lost. A second unwise proposed change would allow developers to increase water runoff in one area if they provide equivalent water storage somewhere else. That wouldn’t increase flooding over the region, but the neighbors of these new developments easily could wind up with more water in their basements. As things work now, if builders in a particular area run into problems with the current MWRD rules, they are permitted to request a variance, which allows solutions to be found on a case-by-case basis. That’s worked just fine, even if it has required a little more paperwork. There’s no justification for weakening the entire ordinance. On Thursday, the MWRD board was prepared to vote on the proposed changes, but the item was pulled from the agenda to give everyone more time to think about what’s at stake. Our dry basements are at stake. And the quality of the water in our rivers and lakes. If the tragedy of Houston has taught us anything, it is that flood control policies in big cities like Chicago must be stringent.
http://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/editorial-lesson-of-houston-dont-water-down-chicagos-flood-rules/

“Back-to-school, Labor Day parade mark Robbins' 100th anniversary,” Daily Southtown

The annual Labor Day and back-to-school parade in Robbins was extra special this year because the village also was marking its 100th anniversary. Mayor Tyrone Ward said Sunday's parade drew an estimated 6,000 people and had about 100 entries and floats. "This is beyond our expectations," he said. The village's history was on full display during the parade, including from a float by the Chicago "DODO" chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen. Ken Rapier, the chapter's president, said 10 Tuskegee Airmen were from Robbins, nine of whom fought in World War II. Chapter members handed out flyers during the parade detailing the village's rich African American history and promoting a free plane ride for kids.

"Our message today is to get kids excited to go back to school, but the free plane ride is an incentive for that," Rapier said. Robbins is the oldest African American incorporated community in the northern half of the United States, according to historians at the Robbins History Museum. The village is also the hometown of several celebrities, including NBA star Dwyane Wade, actress Nichelle Nichols who played Lt. Uhura on "Star Trek," and Mr. T. "We're glad to be out for the 100th anniversary," said Adena Adams, program director for Robbins Help Agency, which had a float in the parade. "This is a big thing for the black community." The group organizes afterschool programs for children at the village's community center, as well as programs for senior citizens. "This year's (parade) is extra special," said Maurice Anderson, a minister at New Friendship Mission Baptist Church, which also had a float in the parade. "There's much more people (this year). This is such a milestone." The church has been located in Robbins for 95 years and has about 200 members, Anderson said. Spectator Carisha Palley said she's been coming to the parade since she was born 37 years ago. "It's a family tradition," she said. "It's a good time to spend with friends and family." "It's a lot bigger this year," he said of the parade. Erika Jackson said the parade and festivities afterward were a very positive way to bring the community together to celebrate. Sunday marked the end of a three-day celebration of the village's 100th birthday. After the parade, a gospel concert was held and a fireworks display was scheduled. Many politicians also took the opportunity to walk in the parade and meet potential future voters, including candidates for governor J.B. Pritzker and Chris Kennedy. As the village wraps up its 100th anniversary celebration, Ward said the future of Robbins looks good. He said this is the second year in a row there has been one homicide in the village, but that's down from 50 a few years ago. A Ward said a multimillion-dollar redevelopment plan with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District is scheduled to start early next year. He said the plans includes bike trails, parks and ponds along Kedzie Avenue to help mitigate flooding issues.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/news/ct-sta-robbins-parade-st-0904-20170903-story.html

“Compost Facility Waits ‘Til Next Spring,” Journal and Topics
A Glenview-based company that wants to develop a 25-acre compost facility on the former Sexton Landfill site along Central Road is delaying its opening to next spring. According to Mat Smarjesse, company president of Patriot Acres, LLC, he has not submitted any applications for the permits necessary to begin operations. Permits are required from the state of Illinois, Cook County and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District largely because the facility involves environmental issues. Smarjesse explained that his original intent was to have the facility up and running this September. Now, however, the operation has been delayed because he has hired additional consultants and engineers to make sure “the plan is the best it could be.”
Around February of this year, residents who live west of the Sexton site became alarmed when the proposal became public. Several meetings were held with the owners of Patriot Acres and residents who were upset because of fears that the facility would harm the environment and cause odors. Smarjesse has said that there will be no odors. Plans call for the facility to be located on 25 acres within the 167-acre landfill across from Oakton Community College. The compost facility would only accept landscape organic waste such as trees, shrubs, grass clippings and fruit and vegetable scraps. Those items would be trucked in and taken to a building on the site where they would be treated in preparation for the material to be sold.
http://www.journal-topics.com/news/article_04a65acc-8c1d-11e7-b0c7-2bfc5f116e3b.html

“State Says Asian Carp Plan Too Expensive, Activists Say ‘Don’t Wait’,” WTTW
Ten years ago, Congress authorized a study on how to keep Asian carp and other invasive species out of the Great lakes. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was tasked with the job of conducting the study. The latest report by the Army Corps was supposed to have been released five months ago but was held up by the Trump administration. After a large lobbying effort by a bipartisan group of Great Lakes legislators the long awaited report was released early this month.
TRANSCRIPT
Brackett: The Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Joliet spans the Des Plaines River. The Army Corps of Engineers says it is the best place to stop Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes.

Brackett: The Corps recognizes that there will be an impact on the shipping industry. Bargers estimate the costs will be $25 million a year, primarily because of delays during construction, plus added time getting through the new system after construction is completed. The Corps acknowledges it will take longer, but nothing like the 3 hours the bargers estimate.
Zuercher: We think that once we get all of these technologies built and implemented, through a period of optimization and testing that will ensure the safety of all that use the lock and dam, that we will be able to get that down to approximately 15 minutes—and possibly even better.
Brackett: But there’s much more than the shipping industry to protect, says Brammeier.
Brammeier: The smart money is on investing to protect the Great Lakes. Look, we’ve got a $7 billion fishery in the Great Lakes that thousands of people depend on for their livelihood. And you’re holding that up against the idea that we’re going to somehow not change this waterway to protect a few million dollars of impact on the shipping industry. Those numbers simply don’t add up.
Brackett: A live Asian Carp was found beyond the electric barriers only 9 miles from Lake Michigan in June. Environmentalists say that find means that the efforts to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes have become even more critical.
But the Illinois Department of Natural Resources intensively fished the area where the one Asian carp was caught, capturing over 20,000 fish, and no other Asian carp were found.
Sanguinetti says autopsy results on the one Asian carp were also significant.
Sanguinetti: What we know is that they tested the fish’s ears and that the likelihood is that where the fish was found is not where the fish was born—that it was more than likely placed there.
It just shows that what IDNR is doing is working.
Brackett: That’s not how Brammeier sees it.
Brammeier: The carp that was found in Chicago a couple of months ago wasn’t the first and it won’t be the last Asian carp to be found close to Lake Michigan. It’s just another indicator that the longer we spend quibbling about how to build something in the waterway, instead of actually building it, that we’re putting the Great Lakes at generational risk.
Document: Read the Army Corps’ draft report
Brackett: There will be a chance to air all the conflicting views on the Bandon Road Lock and Dam project in public hearings held by the Corps over the next month and a half. The head of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, David St. Pierre, says those hearings are needed as now there is not enough consensus to move the plan forward.
David St. Pierre, Metropolitan Water and Reclamation District: There’s no vehicle to move this forward that I can see right now. It doesn’t mean that we can’t figure this out in some kind of a halleluiah moment tomorrow, but from what I’m looking at in this report, and the presentation, I don’t see the path forward.
Brackett: Even if everyone agreed on a path forward the Army Corps projects that construction wouldn’t be finished until 2025.
That’s far too late for some, far too costly for others.
http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/08/29/state-says-asian-carp-plan-too-expensive-activists-say-don-t-wait

Video: “McCook Reservoir to ‘Significantly Reduce’ Flooding, Says MWRD,” WTTW Chicago Tonight

Stage one of the McCook Reservoir will be completed later this year with a holding capacity of 3.5 billion gallons of stormwater.

It has been nearly 120 years since the Sanitary District of Chicago reversed the flow of the Chicago River. The agency, now called the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, is still engineering immense water control projects. Its latest modern marvel will have a significant impact on flood control in the area. It’s being called the Grand Canyon of the Midwest—but on a vastly smaller scale. Still, at 3,000 feet long and 310 feet deep, the McCook Reservoir is an impressive sight. It’ll be put into service later this year and has the capacity to hold 3.5 billion gallons of stormwater. That’s a lot of rainfall that officials say won’t be accumulating on Chicago-area streets and in basements. “It’s not going to be the magic bullet that we all think it is, but it’s going to significantly reduce the incidences of flooding,” said Mariyana Spyropoulos, president of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board of Commissioners.
http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/08/28/mccook-reservoir-significantly-reduce-flooding-says-mwrd

"The Greening of Chicago's Infrastructure," Chicago Life Magazine


Public Affairs’ note: The author was notified that the MWRD passed the Watershed Management Ordinance and partially funded the Deep Tunnel project.
http://origin.misc.pagesuite.com/pdfdownload/393a71cb-938d-47fa-8257-1872391e11f6.pdf

"Mutt Putt at Canal Shores Golf Course Aug. 26," Evanston Now

Canal Shores Golf Course Hosts the First-Ever Mutt Putt August 26

Canal Shores Golf Course in Evanston and Wilmette, one of the rare golf courses where dog owners and golfers play alongside one another, hosts the first-ever Mutt Putt, a community celebration of National Dog Day, on Saturday, August 26, 2017 from 10 am to 2 pm.
The Mutt Putt is free and open to the public and includes activities like agility and obedience demonstrations, a dog parade for people and their pets, dog photography, agility and frisbee demos, a bloodhound "nosework" demo, dog Reiki and massage, and golf putting for people. There will be dog rescue and foster agencies, dog trainers, groomers, retailers, veterinary clinics and food for people and pets. In the event of rain, the Mutt Putt moves to Sunday, August 27, 2017 from 10 am to 2 pm.
The celebration takes place on the Canal Shores Pro Shop lawn, 1030 Central Street, Evanston. There is free lot parking and parking on Lincoln or Central streets. It’s steps from the Purple Line Central Street L stop and a five-block walk to the Metra UP-N Central Street stop. Canal Shores Golf Course receives no public funds or tax dollars from the City of Evanston nor the Village of Wilmette and relies solely on greens fees and fundraising to operate. The land that comprises Canal Shores is sub-leased from the City of Evanston and Village of Wilmette, which lease the property from its owner, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Cook County. It offers programs that celebrate the game of golf, with special programs designed for families, youth and the community.
Canal Shores continues to be a leader demonstrating best practices in environmental sustainability – restoring, installing, maintaining, nurturing and enhancing the natural habitat and working diligently to make the space environmentally friendly through removal of invasive species.
Canal Shores is a 501(c) (3) not for profit organization that has promoted the combined use of the land for the community since 1919. The 18 hole, par 60 golf course winds through Evanston and Wilmette along the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District canal from the Bahá'í Temple on the north to Green Bay Road on the south. For information and to reserve tee times, visit www.canalshores.org or call 847/475-9173.
http://evanstonnow.com/event/fair-festival/entertainment/ellen-depodesta/2017-08-16/78148/mutt-putt-at-canal-shores-golf

“Land Application of Biosolids: Human Health Risk Assessment Related to Microconstituents By: Kuldip Kumar, Ph.D.; Lakhwinder S. Hundal, Ph.D.; Robert K. Bastian; and Ben Davis,” Water Environment Federation
Summary: Biosolids are generated during wastewater treatment processes and are extensively processed to meet the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) 40 CFR Part 503 regulations promulgated in 1993, which dictate acceptable pollutant concentrations, pathogen levels, and material stability (as indicated by vector attraction reduction). Diet, lifestyle, ingestion of house dust and inhalation of indoor air are the major sources of microconstituent exposure to humans (Hundal et al., 2011). Land application of biosolids may only account for minor exposure to some microconstituents at the most. On an average, 7.2 million dry tons of biosolids are produced in the U.S. annually and only 55 percent are land applied. Less than 0.12 % of the nation’s total cropland receives biosolids application. This leads to the logical conclusion that only a small fraction of the total population consumes biosolids-fertilized crops and resides in the vicinity of biosolids-fertilized farmland. Therefore, the land application of biosolids alone cannot account for a significant amount of human exposure to microconstituents (USEPA, 1995). Human exposure to biosolids-derived microconstituents would be expected to mainly occur via ingestion of biosolids fertilized soil, consumption of grains, produce, meat and dairy raised on biosolids-fertilized feed, fish from ponds adjacent to biosolids-fertilized fields, and ground or surface waters impacted by land application of biosolids. Both state and Federal biosolids land application regulations and management practices are designed to be very conservative and highly protective of human and environmental health. Strict adherence to these management practices and loading rate restrictions are protective because the biosolids derived microconstituents have low bioavailability and are not very mobile in the soil profile. Lipophilic microconstituents like PBDEs are not generally taken up by the plants. Less lipophilic microconstituents tend to accumulate in vegetative parts of the plant and are generally not detected in grains, which further limit their translocation into the food chain. These arguments strongly suggest that land application of biosolids would not be a major pathway for human exposure to microconstituents. Furthermore, experience with similar organic chemicals from Part 503 Risk Assessment shows that risk to humans is de minimis. As a society, our exposure to microconstituents can be reduced by being smart consumers. Uses of antimicrobials in personal care products, excessive use of PBDEs and APEs in consumer products, and indiscriminate use of phthalates, BPA and PFCs in personal care and consumer products are unnecessary. Simply avoiding or minimizing use of such products can greatly reduce environmental contamination and human exposure. Also, regulatory agencies could help in reducing the environmental burden by banning unnecessary and indiscriminate use of microconstituents (recent bans on triclosan, triclocarban, and perfluorochemicals are good steps in the right direction) and by promoting non-toxic biodegradable alternatives.
http://wrrfdata.org/NBP/Newsletter/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/WEF-FACT-SHEET-MICROCONSTITUENTS-v25-AUG-2017.pdf

“Crowds Flock To MWRD's Stunning View Of McCook Reservoir,” Water Online

Summary: Visitors began pouring in to see the MWRD's McCook Reservoir and Mainstream Pumping Station on Aug. 6 to learn how the MWRD adjusts to meet this century's challenges of pouring rains that formerly overwhelmed local sewer systems and polluted waterways and flooded communities.
The MWRD, known for reversing the flow of the Chicago River over a century ago, manages the world's largest used water reclamation plant and operates the country's largest public works project for pollution and flood control, known as the Thornton Composite Reservoir. There will soon be an even larger facility when Phase 1 of the McCook Reservoir comes online in December.
Completed in two phases, as part of the MWRD's famed Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP), the McCook Reservoir will have a total capacity of 10 billion gallons; the first phase will be finished this year and will provide 3.5 billion gallons of storage. Phase 2 is scheduled to be completed in 2029 and provide 6.5 billion gallons of storage. The McCook Reservoir will provide an average of $143M per year in flood damage reduction benefits to 3.1 million people in Chicago and 36 other communities.
As part of the tours, the MWRD welcomes visitors to the Mainstream Pumping Station, 6100 River Rd., in Hodgkins, IL, before bussing them to the east rim of the reservoir for guided tours. Visitors are given a complete overview of the TARP system and how it functions to improve local water quality and mitigate flooding throughout Cook County. Visitors can view interactive displays and watch videos of TARP construction at the pumping station.
https://www.wateronline.com/doc/crowds-flock-to-mwrd-s-stunning-view-of-mccook-reservoir-0001

“Stormwater design leads to approval for revamped driveway plans,” Pioneer Press
Summary: A Winnetka property owner will be able to build two driveways, with a total of three driveway entries, to go with his new house, thanks to a decision earlier this month by the village council. Council members approved the request from Chris Freeburg, after hearing from Jim Bernahl, the village's assistant public works director, that the design – replacing a wide straight front drive with a horseshoe-shaped driveway – would actually cut down on the amount of impermeable surface planned for the property. That's important since the lot, which sits on the corner of Sunset Drive and Birch Street between Hill and Willow Roads west of Green Bay Road, lies in a flood plain, Bernahl said. So is the design work Freeburg had done for the property, Bernahl said. Using, among other things, an underground storage vault for water, the design provides 32 percent more stormwater detention and storage than the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District requires, he added. Freeburg initially asked village officials to approve one front yard driveway on Birch Street and a second driveway exiting from the rear of the property onto Sunset Drive, according to the staff report village council members received. That was part of a project in which the original house on the lot was demolished to make way for a new house, which is under construction, the report stated. When Freeburg asked for approval to change the driveway design, staff refused the request because it contravenes village code, Bernahl said. The code prohibits a third driveway entry, or curb-cut, on properties like Freeburg's, one that's wider than 75 feet in width. Freeburg asked that council review the case, Bernahl said. When village staff looked at his plans a second time, their research found that Winnetka has allowed similar situations in the past, on at least six other properties, including some in Freeburg's neighborhood, according to Bernahl. He said the new design lowers the amount of impermeable surface planned for the property by almost 900 square feet. Moreover, Freeburg and his design team may use permeable pavers to create the horseshoe driveway, Bernahl said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/winnetka/news/ct-wtk-village-council-meeting-tl-0824-20170822-story.html

“UICs CHANCE program honored,” Newswise,

Students involved in UIC’s CHANCE summer program meet with members of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago where the program was honored.

"Illinois Finance Authority teeing up state revolving fund deal," SourceMedia
The Illinois Finance Authority is readying a $560 million sale of triple-A rated state revolving fund bonds for the week of Aug. 28 as the agency ramps up its SRF issuance to an annual basis to meet demand. The IFA board approved the deal at a meeting Thursday. Authority executive director Christopher Meister said Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings were expected to complete ratings reviews and an investor presentation would be released the week of Aug. 21. The program is currently rated AAA. The sale marks the agency’s third – one came in 2013 and another in 2016 – since the state bolstered its revolving fund program. Previous issues were done by the IFA’s predecessor authority in 2002 and 2004. Proceeds will fund loans to finance eligible wastewater treatment and sanitary sewerage facilities and drinking water facilities.
“The sizing and timing of the series 2017 bonds are aimed at meeting strong demand by Illinois local governments for low-cost water infrastructure financing through direct loans from Illinois Environmental Protection Agency,” Meister told board members.
From September 1, 2016 through June 30, the IEPA had funded approximately $713 million in loans by leveraging approximately $592 million in bond proceeds generated by the state’s 2016 sale. The revolving fund is promoted as an affordable means for local governments and utilities across the state to overhaul aging clean water and wastewater infrastructure with the current base interest rate at 1.76% for the clean water and drinking water programs. The loan origination rate for the proceeds of the 2016 bonds has far exceeded both the federal one-year minimum spend-down requirement of 30% and the federal three-year minimum spend-down requirement of 95%.
“Working with IEPA, the authority expects future SRF Program bond issues to occur on an annual basis,” Meister said.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the bookrunning senior manager and Citi is co-senior manager with another five firms rounding out the underwriting syndicate. Acacia Financial Group and Sycamore Advisors LLC are advising the IFA and Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP is bond counsel. The deal includes an amendment to the memorandum of understanding between the IFA and IEPA implementing rules that allows IEPA to restructure existing loans under certain circumstances. Rating reports on the 2016 deal said about 73% of the loan portfolio is backed by a local government's water or wastewater pledge while a GO pledge backs the remaining 27%. The 10 borrowers with the largest outstanding loans account for 49% of the total outstanding balances of pledged loans. The loan pool has a lower level of investment grade borrowers then Fitch's median for a AAA credit. The combined clean and drinking water programs are projected to include 487 individual obligors after the sale. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago is the largest participant, accounting for about 26% of the pool. "While significant, MWRD's high rating mitigates the single-obligor concentration risk it would otherwise present," Fitch wrote. MWRD carries double-A to triple-A ratings.
To date, there had been no pledged loan defaults in any of the IEPA state revolving fund programs.
https://fixedincome.fidelity.com/ftgw/fi/FINewsArticle?id=201708181907SM______BNDBUYER_0000015d-f69f-d293-abff-fe9ff5be_110.1

Southwest News Herald

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxwxIjST-HPcMU5UOGRmNWdTTUE/view

“NACWA Elects New Officers, Board Members,” National Association of Clean Water Agencies

"Slowik: New youth baseball field offers hope for Ford Heights," Daily Southtown

"Wheeling Approves Contracts for Manhole Services, Sewer Evaluations," Journal & Topics
Wheeling village trustees on Monday approved extending a project to rehabilitate manholes with a $19,991 Midwest Water Group contract. Rehabilitation work will include manhole cover replacement, grouting, geopolymer wall coating, and other construction work on seven additional sanitary manholes. Midwest Water Group and Wheeling first entered into a $115,110 contract in June, according to Public Works Director Mark Janeck. As the project came in approximately $48,000 under budget, Janeck recommended the village take advantage of the remaining balance and the company’s low prices with an extension. Manholes are usually made of brick and can be “adversely affected by microbial, chemical, hydraulic, and physical elements within the ground,” said Janeck. “Moisture and fluids can infiltrate into or leak out of the manholes.” The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District supports regular rehabilitation projects to avoid this, said Janeck. MWRD has also required municipalities in Cook County conduct annual analyses of sanitary sewers since 2015. Trustees approved a $74,758 engineering services contract with RJN Group for sanitary sewer evaluation services in specific high-risk areas throughout the village. Costs are covered by the village’s sewer capital improvement funds. A memorandum from the public works department said the requirement is intended to: prevent sanitary sewer overflows and basement backups from sewer surcharging; comply with the MWRD, federal, state, and local laws and regulations and minimize extraneous or contaminated flows to MWRD’s facilities. Janeck said two methods are typically used to detect contamination. One is a dye test that shows if affected water gets into areas where it shouldn’t be. The other is a smoke test that demonstrates where gasses are escaping from the system. Results from the annual study dictate which manholes are lined during the next rehabilitation project, Janeck said.
http://www.journal-topics.com/news/article_3ee3aba2-7eb4-11e7-9d1a-874e814a8a21.html

"Shout Out: Madeleine Riggs, honored at science fair," Pioneer Press

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Chairman of Finance Frank Avila with Madeleine Riggs, a student at St. Paul of the Cross School. (Metropolitan Water Reclamation District)

“You can tour Chicagoland’s largest infrastructure project,” Chicago Architecture
People love taking tours of places that few can go. And people love seeing the inner working of Chicago’s built environment. Those are two reasons that the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s annual Open House Chicago is such a big hit. If you’re the sort of person who looks forward to rare tours of constructed spaces, then the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District has an opportunity for you. For a few weekends, the MWRD is offering tours of a portion of TARP — the massive water shunting and storage project that is trying to keep Chicagoland from returning to its pre-1800’s state as a soggy marsh.

Phase one of the McCook Reservoir (Courtesy of MWRD)

“Wastewater Plant Workers Find Some Crazy Things,” Water Online
Summary: An unusual part of the lives of water treatment workers: Findings strange items that get flushed down the toilet or otherwise end up at the treatment plant. Sometimes, valuables find their way through the pipes, according to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, which operates the world’s largest nutrient recovery facility at their Stickney Water Reclamation Plant. Baltimore wastewater workers made a strange finding of their own a few years ago, according to a Wired report. “The Baltimore Wastewater Treatment Plant put out a call for extreme spider help in 2009, when a giant spider web covered almost 4 acres of their facility. Scientists eventually estimated over 107 million spiders were living in the structure, with densities of 35,176 spiders per m³ in spots,” the report said. To read more about those working at treatment plants visit Water Online’s Labor Solutions Center.
https://www.wateronline.com/doc/wastewater-plant-workers-find-some-crazy-things-0001

“Scientists meet in Taipei as global warming drives increased water shortages,” Medill News
If you ask Chicagoans to draw a map of their city, the first line on the page will likely be a slightly angled north-south axis. Everything west of the line is urban territory. Everything east of it is fresh water. Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes contain one-fifth of the world’s surface fresh water – 6 quadrillion gallons of it. But is Chicago an aquatic paradise, immune to worldwide water shortages that are accelerating with global warming? Scientists here say the answer is no. “There are estimates that industrial and economic development will be limited by water in the city of Chicago within the next 20 years,” says Aaron Packman, professor of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University.
Though the Great Lakes are vast, water extraction from them is limited under the legally binding Great Lakes Compact. Most Chicago suburbs cannot obtain their drinking water from Lake Michigan. “Go a county or two to the west or south, where they must use groundwater [from aquifers]. Those sources are rapidly becoming depleted,” says Seth Snyder, a colleague of Packman’s at Northwestern and chief of water research at Argonne National Laboratory, a world-renowned science and engineering research center located on a sprawling campus 30 miles southwest of the city. Packman and Snyder are two of the principal researchers at the Northwestern Argonne Institute of Science and Engineering (NAISE), a partnership between Northwestern and Argonne. Although Argonne was founded in the 1940s during the Manhattan Project, NAISE is one of dozens of programs that now use the facilities to develop state-of-the-art technologies for sustainability, energy and other applications.

A resin wafer at Argonne testing new technologies for water treatment and conservation. (Adam Cohen/Medill)

“Albany Park Tunnel Coming Along,” CBS Chicago
President Mariyana Spyropoulos participated in a press conference aimed to update the community about the Albany Park diversion tunnel project.
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/08/05/albany-park-tunnel-coming-along/

“Albany Park diversion tunnel will reduce flooding on North Side,” Chicago Sun-Times

The plan for the Albany Park Stormwater Diversion Tunnel Project. | City of Chicago

“Highland Park mayor holds flood mitigation meeting,” Highland Park Patch

Summary: Highland Park's mayor and city staff met Tuesday with representatives from several area agencies and organizations, as well as officials from neighboring municipalities, to consider ways to reduce the amount of devastation caused by future flooding. Mayor Nancy R. Rotering was joined by representatives from the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (LCSMC), the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD), the Village of Northbrook, the Village of Deerfield, and the Chicago Botanic Garden (CBG) to consider and move forward with several flood mitigation solutions following the July 11-12 storm that swamped portions of Highland Park and dozens of communities throughout Lake County.
The group reviewed and exhausted several possible solutions including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Mitigation Assistance program (home buyouts), localized storage reservoir solution efforts in cooperation with Lake County and the North Branch Chicago River Watershed group, and dredging the Skokie River. The Chicago Botanic Garden (CBG) confirmed that even though the property stores over 100 million gallons of floodwater during storm events, no further flood mitigation is available and there is no mechanism in place to assist with flood mitigation efforts during storm events.
The IEMA Floodway Buyout Program is administered by Lake County as agent for IEMA and would require a 25% contribution by the City of Highland Park. Homeowners that meet specific flood-related criteria may apply for a buy-out under the FEMA program. LCSMC will issue information about the program via postal mail to affected homes within the next few weeks. The deadline to apply for this voluntary home purchasing program is November 1, 2017.
At the time of the recovery efforts, Rotering issued a formal request to federal, state, and county officials for recovery and future remediation assistance. US Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, Congressman Brad Schneider, and Lake County President Aaron Lawlor have responded. The City provided requested data and continues to work with them regarding possible assistance.
https://patch.com/illinois/highlandpark/highland-park-mayor-holds-flood-mitigation-meeting

“HP seeks flood mitigation plan,” Daily North Shore
Summary: Highland Park Mayor Nancy R. Rotering and City of Highland Park staff met with representatives from the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (LCSMC), the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC), Village of Northbrook, Village of Deerfield, and the Chicago Botanic Garden (CBG) to explore and advance flood mitigation solutions following the July 11-12 storm that devastated parts of Highland Park and dozens of communities throughout Lake County. The group reviewed and exhausted several possible solutions including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Mitigation Assistance program (home buyouts), localized storage reservoir solution efforts in cooperation with Lake County and the North Branch Chicago River Watershed group, and dredging the Skokie River. The Chicago Botanic Garden (CBG) confirmed that even though the property stores over 100 million gallons of floodwater during storm events, no further flood mitigation is available and there is no mechanism in place to assist with flood mitigation efforts during storm events. The IEMA Floodway Buyout Program is administered by Lake County as agent for IEMA and would require a 25% contribution by the City of Highland Park.
Homeowners that meet specific flood-related criteria may apply for a buy-out under the FEMA program. For information regarding the IEMA buyout program, please visit www.illinois.gov/iema/Mitigation/Pages/MitigationPrograms.aspx.
https://jwcdaily.com/2017/08/02/hp-seeks-flood-mitigation-plan/

“MWRD honors students at science fair ceremony,” Beverly Review

Emily Nelson, an eighth-grade student at Kellogg Elementary School, was recognized for her science project, “The Sturdy Stand: Solving the Problem of Stable Renewable Energy.”

“What's your favorite fountain? New book collects Chicago's water wonders,” Chicago Tribune
Summary: I know you have a favorite bar. I know you have a favorite building.
The city is filled with places and things that warrant a place in your heart.
But what about a favorite fountain?
Now, don’t knee-jerk an answer and blurt out, as deserving as both might be of your affection, Buckingham or Crown.
Greg Borzo’s favorite fountain of the moment is the Fountain of the Great Lakes that has been sitting, stunningly I might add, in the South Garden of the Art Institute since 1913. That’s a good call. But Borzo’s fickle about fountains. He can and will change his mind at any time.
“Sometimes my favorite fountain is the one I am sitting next to,” he says.
He knows more about Chicago’s public fountains than anyone you could imagine, having recently compiled his visits to them and his research into a spectacular book titled, appropriately, “Chicago’s Fabulous Fountains” (Southern Illinois University Press).
It comes with an introduction by WTTW-Ch. 11’s Geoffrey Baer (“After reading this book, you’ll see Chicago’s fountains as new friends,” he writes); preface by Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Debra Shore (“I treasure water in all its forms”) and terrific photos by Julia Thiel.
Borzo is a child of the Northwest Side who received degrees in cultural anthropology from Grinnell College in Iowa and a master's in journalism from Northwestern University. He has worked and written for such publications and institutions as Modern Railroads magazine and the Field Museum. He was one of the authors of “The Windies' City: Chicago's Historical Hidden Treasures,” a gathering of some favorite “field trips” of the Chicago History Museum's docents (2006); "The Chicago 'L' " (2007), a history of, well, the “L,” which Nelson Algren once described as "the city's rusty heart"; "Where to Bike Chicago: Best Biking in City and Suburbs" (2012), containing more than 70 rides (27 for kids) across Chicago and the suburbs; “Chicago Cable Cars” (2012) and “RAGBRAI: America’s Favorite Bicycle Ride” (2013).
When not writing and researching, he is on the move, frequently giving tours of the city for all manner of organizations and groups.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ent-great-fountains-sidewalks-0801-story.html

"Brookfield seeks grant for 'green' alleys," Riverside Brookfield Landmark
Village hits up MWRD for paving commercial alleys near 47th St.

After heavy rains, water ponds in the commercial alleys north of 47th Street between Eberly and
Raymond avenues, like many Brookfield alleys. The village is seeking a grant to pave those four
commercial alleys next year using sustainable building methods. | Bob Uphues/Editor

The village of Brookfield is seeking $135,000 in grant funding from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago to help pave four commercial alleys using sustainable construction methods that would include permeable pavers. The alleys, which would be improved in 2018 if the grant funding is approved, all run east-west and are located directly north of industrial/commercial properties along 47th Street between Eberly and Raymond avenues. Like most of Brookfield's alleys, those included as part of the grant application consist of gravel, and the heavy truck traffic, combined with rains — such as the heavy storms the area has experienced the past couple of weeks — conspire to make them prone to flood into adjacent properties. The alleys can have as much as 8 inches of standing water in depressions in the gravel, which simply doesn't drain.
Brookfield is seeking funds through the MWRD's Green Infrastructure Program, which assists in the construction of sustainable storm-water runoff solutions. According to the grant application, paving the east-west alleys between Eberly and Raymond would benefit 27 commercial and residential properties. The alleys would have "permeable pavers and underground storage areas that can detain storm water onsite and reduce runoff into the storm sewer."
Paving the alleys would also eliminate the ponding so common after rains and snow melts. The village has periodically attempted to address issues related to the gravel alleys along 47th Street, but the fixes are always temporary. According to the grant application, the entire cost of construction for the four alleys would be about $323,000, with the village picking up about $188,000 of the cost. The village's Department of Public Works would be charged with maintaining the alleys. Hancock Engineering, which serves as the village's engineering firm, has already completed preliminary engineering for the project. The new alleys would be a combination of concrete and permeable pavers, underlain with filter fabric and a 24-inch-deep, 12-foot-wide drywell of compacted aggregate. The roughly 6,000 square feet of permeable area would be able to retain about 32,325 gallons of water, according to the application.
It would take about 10 weeks to construct the alleys, and work would begin next spring if Brookfield receives the grant funding.
http://www.rblandmark.com/News/Articles/7-25-2017/Brookfield-seeks-grant-for-'green'-alleys/

“City tests trash skimmer to clean Chicago River near riverwalk,” Chicago Tribune
Summary: The city is embarking on an initiative to further clean up the garbage pooling in the Chicago River along the Riverwalk. This month, crews installed a trash skimmer, resembling a floating dumpster, on the south side of the river by the State Street bridge. The stationary skimmer, about 6 feet wide and 4 feet deep, sucks in the bacteria-laden water and uses a mesh screen to catch oil pollutants and floating garbage. City janitorial staff will dump the debris into a separate trash can and lay it out on a tarp in a loading area of the riverwalk to collect data on the amount and type of debris and how often the trash needs to get dumped. Although there's been a push to clean up the Chicago River to boost its recreational appeal and improve habitats for aquatic life, raw sewage is still dumped into it. For example, when a heavy rainstorm brings Chicago's sewers to capacity, the stormwater — a combination of storm runoff and household waste — can overflow into the river. More than 18.2 billion gallons of pollution flowed into the river last year, the Tribune reported. A Tribune analysis found sewage and runoff flowed into the waterway about once every six days last year, and even more frequently during the May-to-October recreation season. Levels of fecal coliform bacteria — an indicator of pathogens that can cause diarrhea, nausea, eye infections and skin rashes — spiked along the riverwalk at Wells Street last summer.

A trash skimmer and collector floats in the water under the State Street Bridge along the Chicago
Riverwalk on July 28, 2017. The city installed it to clear garbage off the surface of the Chicago River.
(Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune)

The riverwalk now stretches for 1.25 miles from Lake Shore Drive to Lake Street, with the most recent section on the west end completed last year. The trash skimmer complements other efforts to clean the water. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, which operates independently from city and county government, is building the Deep Tunnel system with reservoirs to reduce flooding and improve water quality. It has two skimmer boats that travel along the Chicago River and other area waterways collecting debris. MWRD began using the two new skimmer boats in 2015 as required by a Clean Water Act settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for discharging untreated sewage. A two-person crew in each boat uses nets to help collect debris, and baskets built into the boats at water level also scoop up trash like cans, bottles, foam cups and plastic bags. Larger objects are removed from the waterway by a four-person crew on a 36-foot boat with a collection barge and crane. Collectively, the boats have extracted about 3,400 cubic yards of debris over the last two years, according to MWRD spokesman Patrick Thomas. The city also has a garbage boat whose crew uses a net to collect trash. It operates seasonally on weekends and within several hours of a storm. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/

“MWRD to begin Manhole Repair Job on July 31 at Southwest Highway at 143rd Street
Train Station,” Village of Orland Park

Beginning Monday, July 31, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago plans to repair two manholes on Southwest Highway north of 143rd St. along the commuter parking lot. This project will require the closure of the northbound lane of Southwest Highway through the project site beginning on July 31 and continuing through August 10. Northbound traffic will be diverted to the center turn lane/hatched area. One entrance and one exit driveway will be closed. http://orlandpark.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1271

“La Grange Country Club improvement plans raise stormwater issues,” Pioneer Press
Summary: La Grange Country Club is planning to improve its amenities, but it needs backing from the village to ease the way. David Whalen, general manager of the club, presented the plans at a meeting Wednesday for residents. The 119-acre club at 620 S. Brainard Ave., wants to add four platform tennis courts, shorten the driving range and add four netted hitting stations, build a new bathhouse and snack area and replace its pool. The club dates from 1899. Only a couple of residents were at the meeting, and their questions mostly involved flooding in the residential area north of the club. The plans to upgrade the club also includes addressing stormwater management, which Whalen said will be improved. "We're going 30 percent above what the code requires," he said. He noted that some of the improvements will also result in the removal of some hard space on the club's grounds. Brian Clarke of Western Springs, a past president of the club, said the club's green space already provides flooding relief.
Village President Thomas Livingston said options to keep stormwater from surrounding areas will be discussed by the club and village officials, who are working together on the plans. The club is in unincorporated Cook County, but the village's sign-off on a proposal to access the village's stormwater system at Park and Linkletter avenues, Livingston said. The approval is needed for the club to move forward and seek approval for its improvement plans from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. Even though the club is not within the village, Livingston said it is an important part of the community and the village wants to ensure their plans also manage stormwater effectively. The club hopes to begin the improvements after Memorial Day and, if the weather cooperates, have them done in about six months.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/la-grange/news/ct-dlg-country-club-plans-lagrange-tl-0802-20170727-story.html

“Environmental Groups, Illinois EPA to look at ways to improve Des Plaines River water,” The Herald
Summary: It wouldn’t be wise to go swimming or consume fish from the Des Plaines River.
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency water quality test data show that various chemicals and bacteria are in the water, particularly in the stretch from Romeoville to the river’s confluence with the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal just north of Joliet.
IEPA water quality tests from 2016 show thataldrin, arsenic, chloride, methoxychlor, phosphorus, mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls and fecal coliform flow in that part of the river.
The IEPA considers that section of the river as one that is not supporting aquatic life, not supporting fish consumption and not supporting primary contact – or skin-in-the-water recreation.
Manufacturing and industrial discharge plays a much larger role in the chemistry of the Des Plaines River water than it does in, say, the DuPage River, said Lower DuPage River Watershed Coalition communications manager Tara Neff.
That’s because of the sheer amount of industrial sites that are near, or next to, the Des Plaines in Will County. A newly formed Lower Des Plaines Watershed Coalition is expected to look into how changes in discharge and river management could improve water quality.
That needs to be looked at,” Neff said, adding that the IEPA will have to consider placing more stringent nutrient discharge limits on manufacturers and industrial sites near the Des Plaines.
Although the IEPA data is not new, more organized efforts to improve the Lower Des Plaines River and river water throughout Illinois are kicking off after years of litigation.
In January, the Prairie Rivers Network, in partnership with the Illinois Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council, reached a settlement with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago to reduce algae pollution in Illinois’ rivers.
The agreement requires the parties to work together to curb phosphorous discharges from industrial plants that are fueling algal blooms and lowering water quality, a news release from the Prairie Rivers Network stated.
MWRD agreed to upgrade pollution controls at its largest wastewater plants by 2030. The parties are forming a joint committee to hire scientists and engineers to identify problematic places in the Chicago River system and come up with a plan to eliminate algal and plant problems.
The Des Plaines River watershed begins in southern Wisconsin and travels south through countless developed suburban municipalities before it reaches the Joliet area.
Locally, part of the settlement requires the MWRD to conduct water quality monitoring in the Lower Des Plaines River near Joliet, where the worst algae problems are most evident, the release stated.
The information from the monitoring will be vital to developing Clean Water Act permit limits, according to the Prairie Rivers Network.
The Lower Des Plaines River Watershed Coalition is in the beginning stages. Neff said the group, which will be similar to the DuPage River one she represents, is trying to build relationships with wastewater treatment plants in the watershed of the lower part of the Des Plaines River, which goes through Will County.
The Illinois Department of Public Health advises that carp – a species of fish – longer than 18 inches should not be consumed if caught in the Des Plaines River between Lockport and the Kankakee River in Channahon. Catfish and freshwater drum from that stretch should not be consumed more than once a month, the IDPH says.
Efforts to reach representatives from the IEPA and Prairie Rivers Network were unsuccessful.
http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/07/26/environmental-groups-illinois-epa-to-look-at-ways-to-improve-des-plaines-river-water/ag642ed/

“Drone 2: Aeration Station, Worth, Illinois,” WBBM-TV
Summary: CBS 2 Meteorologist Ed Curran and Mobile Weather Lab are in Worth to check out man-made waterfalls.
http://us995.cbslocal.com/video/category/spoken-word-wbbmtv/3704152-drone-2-aeration-station-worth-illinois/

“Highland Park fielded more than 600 calls during flood crisis,” Highland Park News

Highland Park resident Maria Barrazza navigates flooded Taylor Avenue by canoe July 12 after rising
water levels on the nearby Skokie River spread through the neighborhood. (Karen Berkowitz/Pioneer
Press)

“What flood control projects did to stem tide of stormwaters,” Daily Herald

Completed in 2015, Levee 37 on River Road in Mount Prospect and Prospect Heights passed its first
major test after the recent floods, officials said.

“A snapping turtle? Take a trip down the drain at Chicago-area water treatment plant,”
Chicago Tribune

Operating engineer Bob Hall uses a wood plank with a handle to pull down debris as steel teeth comb
through screens to remove trash and debris at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District's water
treatment plant in Stickney on July 20, 2017.

Summary: Under the floor grates in a building at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District's Stickney wastewater treatment plant lies a mucky treasure trove of kids' colorful rubber super balls that have bounced into the sewer system over the years. Bouncy balls are among the most common items filtered out during the first step of preliminary treatment of wastewater from the Chicago area. Longtime employees recall finding more unusual items over the years, including a snapping turtle and thousands of feet of nylon rope that became known as the "rope monster." The Stickney Water Reclamation Plant gets sent all the water that goes down the drain from toilets and sinks, showers, laundry and dishwashers — and everything else that gets flushed down with it, including those bouncy balls — from homes, businesses and sewers on the street from the central parts of Chicago and nearly 50 suburbs. Not only is it the biggest wastewater plant among the district's six other plants, but it also is considered one of the largest treatment facilities in the world, cleaning an average of 700 million gallons of wastewater per day, or more if there's a recent storm. Once the water is cleaned, it's sent flowing back into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The first step in water treatment is the removal of large debris, so equipment doesn't get damaged. The screening occurs at two locations at the Stickney plant. Inside one nondescript brick structure on the sprawling 413-acre campus in Cicero, subterranean channels of water flow from sewers to the plant. The water encounters metal screens with slats about three-quarters of an inch apart, which allows water to get pumped to aerated tanks. There, smaller materials like grit, sand and gravel are removed before the primary treatment process begins. Six gigantic mechanical arms get lowered about 18 feet into the water channels, and rakes scoop up what gets stuck behind the screens.

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District's water treatment plant in Stickney, Ill.

Should large items cause the machines to halt operations, an alert is sent to the control room, which is equipped with a wall of video screens. There, employees can see how many rakes are working and can shift gears to scoop up debris more quickly or slowly depending on water flow. The rakes dump the trash on a metal slide, where the debris makes its way down to a conveyor belt that sends the muck to a bucket.
When the bucket at the end of the conveyor belt is full of debris, a buzzer rings and the conveyor belt stops. The bucket then dumps the trash into a dumpster. When full, a scavenger service takes the debris to a landfill. For the first half of the year through May 31, the screening process at the Stickney treatment plant collected about 2,775 cubic yards of large debris, nearly enough to fill an Olympic-size pool.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-water-treatment-plant-filter-items-met-20170721-story.html

“EDITORIAL: Envisioning a Chicago future without massive flood damage,” Chicago Sun Times

Flooding continued Monday in Fox Lake, Ill., along the Chain O' Lakes.

Summary: The massive flooding ravaging parts of the Chicago area is doing hundreds of millions of dollars of damage, and all because of a basic failure of planning.
It is foolish that so many homes and businesses stand in low-lying areas that are susceptible to flooding. It need not be that way. Among possible solutions, we support a call for the federal government — which already is spending billions of dollars on flood insurance for some properties that flood again and again — to buy out more homes and businesses that repeatedly flood and raze them as the owners voluntarily move elsewhere. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, on its own, already has done some of this.
Most of the Chicago-area flood damage sustained this month so far, caused when the Des Plaines River, Fox River and other waterways overflowed their banks, has been to structures built before about 1970, which was when local governments finally got serious about limiting development on flood plains. Of newer buildings that have been damaged, most were built closer to 1970 than to today. Ever-stricter rules limiting construction in flood-prone areas, as well as requirements that developers include compensatory water storage space when they do build on a flood plain, have made a difference.
But for homes and businesses that remain in low-lying areas, their only salvation may be federal flood insurance — and that program expires in September. Congress, understandably, is looking for ways to stop paying to repair or rebuild the same structures over and over. The flood insurance program itself is flooded — in nearly $25 billion of red ink. Congress also faces the expensive challenge of updating outdated maps of flood-prone areas even as the Trump administration proposes slashing $190 million a year from the mapping program.
Under a law Illinois passed in 2014, the MWRD has bought out 56 Cook County homeowners who voluntarily moved elsewhere. The state of Illinois and the Federal Emergency Management Agency also have set aside funds to remove buildings in floodplains, although progress has been slow. Local governments should continue such projects as building levees and new storm water storage sites and encouraging “green infrastructure,” such as permeable pavement and rain barrels that keep rainwater runoff from rushing into waterways. Also, area residents can reduce water use on “overflow days,” when the region’s drainage system is at or above capacity.
Yes, the MWRD this year is bringing its new McCook Reservoir on line. But the Chicago area can’t build reservoirs large enough to hold all the water that swamps us in big storms.
Scientists tell us to expect heavier rains as the climate warms. We can stack the sandbags every time a thunderstorm moves in. Or we can do a better job of staying out of the water’s way.
http://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/editorial-envisioning-a-chicago-future-without-massive-flood-damage/

“Glenview approves funding for flood protection study,” Chicago Tribune
Summary: The Glenview Board of Trustees recently approved paying $262,500, or half of the cost, for a feasibility study to look into flood protection improvements along the West Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will conduct the study, which is scheduled to be completed by December 2018, and will pay for the remaining $262,500 for the study, according to a board report.
The study will look into four options: taking no action; installing a flood wall through residential backyards; installing a flood wall along residential streets and flood-proofing structures near the river; and flood-proofing all impacted homes, according to the report. The board approved the payment in a 5-0 vote as part of the consent agenda. The project would benefit about 175 homes in the Tall Trees neighborhood, which is located near the West Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River, said Deputy Village Manager Don Owen.
The neighborhood was previously studied by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, according to the report. The organization found that, over time, the neighborhood could avoid up to $6.6 million in damages if a flood protection project was completed.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/glenview/news/ct-gla-army-corps-flood-protection-tl-0727-20170720-story.html

“Water Reclamation District opens the McCook reservoir to public viewing,”
Suburban Chicagoland

McCook Reservoir, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. Photo courtesy of the MWRD

Summary: Get your cameras out! The last chapter in the MWRD’s historic Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) is about to begin. The MWRD will unveil to the public the first phase of the McCook Reservoir, the last of three reservoirs to be constructed to protect area waterways from pollution and mitigate flooding. When completed, the reservoir will have a total capacity of 10 billion gallons, beginning with the first phase to be finished this year that will provide 3.5 billion gallons of storage. Phase 2 will be completed in 2029 and provide 6.5 billion gallons of storage. The McCook Reservoir will provide an average of $143 million per year in flood damage reduction benefits to 3,100,000 people in Chicago and 36 other communities.
Due to the popularity of tours at the Thornton Composite Reservoir in South Holland in 2015, the MWRD will offer the public a chance to glimpse into the giant limestone reservoir with a guided tour from MWRD’s expert engineers. Visitors will also have the opportunity to tour the Mainstream Pumping Station.
TARP is the country’s largest public works project for pollution and flood control, covering a 375-mile area that includes Chicago and 51 suburbs relying on a combined collection system. The 109-mile network of tunnel systems, which capture 2.3 billion gallons of water 150 to 300 feet below ground, was completed in 2006. The Majewski Reservoir was completed in 1998 and the Thornton Reservoir in 2015. When complete, the McCook Reservoir will replace Thornton as the largest reservoir of its kind in the world.
For more information, read the Tunnel and Reservoir Fact Sheet at www.mwrd.org.
http://suburbanchicagoland.com/2017/07/17/water-reclamation-district-opens-the-mccook-reservoir-to-public-viewing/

“Arlington Heights trustees ok police station costs, for now,” Daily Herald
Summary: As demolition of Arlington Heights' old police station continues, the village board on Monday formally approved the cost of the new station to be $27.9 million, 10 to 15 percent less than original projections, officials said. Trustees agreed unanimously Monday night to set the project's so-called guaranteed maximum price at that level, though additional incremental costs are possible if unforeseen issues arise during construction, officials said.
The proposed two-level, 70,500-square-foot police station will be built to replace the 38-year-old cop shop at 200 E. Sigwalt St. Exterior demolition started last Wednesday, after months of underground utility and abatement work. Village and police department officials say the 38,000-square-foot facility became cramped and outdated and wouldn't have been able to meet current and future needs.
A 2010 feasibility study estimated the price of a new police station, adjusted for inflation, to be more than $30 million. But in an effort to lower costs, the size of the facility was reduced, while plans were made to relocate some police storage to the fourth floor of village hall and the former fire academy near Nickol Knoll Golf Club, according to Village Manager Randy Recklaus. A subsequent 2015 study budgeted $27.9 million for the station -- a number officials say they've worked hard to fall within. Construction manager Riley Construction has built in $1.6 million worth of construction, design and pricing contingency funds in the overall $27.9 million cost. The village has set aside another $1.6 million for possible cost overruns.
The board on Monday also gave the village manager and finance director the authority to approve individual project change orders up to $40,000; anything more must come back to trustees. If the project ends up under budget, the village may later consider as many as 18 alternatives, such as the $327,000 cost to install permeable pavers on top of a stormwater detention vault and the main access driveway between the new police station and village hall. Last week, the village submitted a grant application to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago to help pay for the project.
http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20170718/arlington-heights-trustees-ok-police-station-costs-as-budgeted-for-now

“In Albany Park, residents fret over rain as storm sewer project continues," Chicago Tribune
Summary: For years, Albany Park residents living along the North Branch of the Chicago River have cringed at any heavy rainfall, fearing the river would leave its banks and water would fill their streets and homes. While Chicago didn't see the rain totals the suburbs did, the city saw 2.33 inches of rain between Wednesday and Thursday morning, enough for city crews to spring into action — ferrying equipment and sandbags to the area as the river swelled to five feet, below flood stage. Residents were happy with the city's response, but some say they won't breathe a sigh of relief until the massive underground storm water diversion tunnel is completed next spring. City officials say the $70 million project is on schedule for completion in May as crews dig a mile-long tunnel below Foster Avenue that will divert surging stormwater east toward the North Shore Channel. The tunnel, a joint project between the Chicago Department of Transportation and Metropolitan Water and Reclamation District, will reduce the danger of floods that have plagued the neighborhood in recent years.
The city's response was all part of a city flooding "action plan" that was created following the April 2013 floods, said Manuel Galvan, a spokesman for Ald. Margaret Laurino, 39th.
Once river levels hit five feet — two feet below flood stage — city departments, including Streets and Sanitation, police, fire and utility companies like ComEd "descend" on Albany Park to ensure a quick response to any residential flooding or safety issues, Galvan said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-albany-park-flooding-plan-met-20170714-story.html

“Over 100 Individuals Now Certified In Green Infrastructure Through New Training Program,” Water Environment Federation
Summary: The Water Environment Federation (WEF) and DC Water announce that 46 individuals recently completed a new job program that provides training and certification in construction, inspection, and maintenance of green infrastructure, a fast-growing approach to reduce stormwater pollution.
More than 100 individuals in Baltimore, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C. have now completed the training and earned certifications under the National Green Infrastructure Certification Program (NGICP) in 2017.
Over the past year, WEF, DC Water, and a group of municipal partners from across the nation have been working to develop the NGICP. Designed to meet international best practice standards, the certification will promote a skilled green workforce, help streamline the process of connecting qualified talent to in-demand jobs, support community-based job creation in U.S. cities, and establish national standards for professionals seeking to work on green infrastructure projects.
The NGICP is intended to verify that all trainees have a standard set of skills and abilities, which will make those workers more valuable and marketable if they choose to work in other parts of the country. Additional pilot NGICP training will be held in fall 2017 with exams in November and the program is projected to roll out nationally in 2018.
Housed under WEF’s Stormwater Institute, the NGICP is being developed and implemented with the support of a growing number of utilities to help advance the program nationwide.
Current NGICP Partnering Organizations include the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (Mass.), Capital Region Water (Pa.), City of Baltimore Department of Public Works (Md.), Fairfax County (Va.), Kansas City Water Services Department (Mo.), Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District (Ky.), Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (Ohio), Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (Ill.), Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (Wis.), Montgomery County (Md.), New Orleans Delegation (La.), New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (Pa.), and San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (Calif). For more information, visit www.ngicp.org. https://www.wateronline.com/doc/over-individuals-now-certified-green-infrastructure-new-training-program-0001

“Hollywood-North Park Community Association To Present Plan For Reinvention,” DNA Info
From the launch of a long-hoped-for farmers market to beautification efforts along Bryn Mawr Avenue, the Hollywood-North Park Community Association has big plans for the neighborhoods it serves — and itself. A group of association members will unveil a new vision for Hollywood-North Park and a new structure for the organization, 7 p.m. Tuesday at North Park University's Johnson Center, Room 325. All community residents — including non-association members — are invited to learn more about the organization's reinvention and its initiatives, some of which, such as Food Truck Fridays, have already come to fruition. The presentation is expected to include information about the association's areas of focus — commerce, education, the environment, community care, and arts and culture — and specific actions and goals being pursued within each of those categories. The Hollywood-North Park community is bounded by Peterson Avenue, the North Branch of the Chicago River, Pulaski Road and the North Shore Channel. According to a history of the association, the organization was founded in 1951 when neighbors joined forces to shut down a problem business operating near Peterson and Jersey avenues on land that was, at the time, under the jurisdiction of the Sanitary District of Chicago (now the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District). The group of residents successfully campaigned to have the land transferred to the Chicago Park District and incorporated into Legion Park. Another big win for the association: saving the grounds of the former Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium from commercial development and converting the land instead into North Park Village, which includes the North Park Village Nature Center.
https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170711/north-park/hollywood-north-park-community-association-present-plan-for-reinvention

“Soon you can look here for that water that used to be in your basement,” Chicago Sun Times

Stage one of the new McCook Reservoir as seen from within the 33-foot-diameter pipe that will carry stormwater to the site. | Neil Steinberg/Sun-Times

When I visited the new McCook Reservoir, I wasn’t exactly happy to be welcomed by rain pelting down in big summertime drops. I had brought my steel-toed boots but no jacket and no umbrella.
But the rain was appropriate, considering that rain is what this is all about: the 109 miles of deep tunnel, the 10-billion-gallon reservoir this hole in the rock will someday become part of; all so the water that falls from the sky can find its way into a treatment plant without first detouring through your basement, a task that is getting harder for two reasons: the soot we put into the sky and the pavement we slap over the ground.
“Forty percent of Cook County is nonpermeable surface, which means water can’t absorb where it falls,” said Mariyana T. Spyropoulos, president of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, who accompanied me on a tour of the site tucked between the Stevenson Expressway and the Sanitary and Ship Canal in Bedford Park.
Here I interrupted her, incredulous. I’ve heard a lot of stark statistics about Cook County. But 40 percent? How can that be?
“We have concrete,” she said. “We have asphalt. Rainwater cannot absorb into it. Yes, 40 percent. Combine that with the fact that we have climate change, we have more intense rainstorms. In the last 10 years we’ve had three hundred-year rainstorms.”
“You mean the highly controversial theory of climate change?” I quipped.
“Climate change is resulting in more intense rainstorms,” she said. “The fact that we don’t have permeable pavement. The fact that we have aging infrastructure. Smaller pipes. You’re basically trying to push rainwater through a straw into reservoirs.”

This first stage of the McCook Reservoir, an old limestone quarry used to hold stormwater, will flood this summer. When complete in 2029, the site be able to hold 10 billion gallons of water. | Neil Steinberg/Sun-Times
No “small pipes” here. Rather, an enormous, 33-foot-diameter outlet of the Deep Tunnel emptying into the reservoir, against blocks of concrete 9 feet tall to disperse the force of the water and keep it from chewing up the bottom of the reservoir, which the district plans to flood by the end of the summer.
“Stage one is going online this year,” said Carmen Scalise, a MWRD engineer, noting the first section will hold 3.5 billion gallons, roughly half the size of the Thornton Reservoir, which opened in 2015. When stage two, holding 6.5 billion gallons, opens in 2029, McCook will be even bigger than Thornton.
Why will completion take a dozen years?
“The reason it’s taking so long is we have to physically mine this rock out, 285 feet deep, and we can only get rid of it as fast as people are buying it,” said Scalise. “With any giant infrastructure projects, it’s not a quick process.”
After the limestone is dug out, a barrier, or “slurry wall,” had to be formed.
“The slurry wall is basically a 3-foot-wide strip of bentonite clay,” said Scalise. “We dug out this trench around the entire perimeter and filled it with clay and it forms an impervious layer.
Groundwater from the outside can’t get in. We did the same thing in the rock: two rows of grout curtains: 4-inch-diameter holes drilled . . . down below the bottom of the reservoir and pumped full of grout to keep the ground water out and, when the reservoir is full, keep our CSO in.”
No, not the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In this world, “CSO” is “combined sewer outflow.” When I wrote about the Thornton Quarry, I mentioned the MWRD was taking tour groups through, and 3,000 people responded. With McCook, they are again conducting tours before it’s flooded. To schedule a tour, phone (312) 751-6633.

This Hitachi earthmoving truck, working in the McCook Reservoir, can carry 150 tons of rock. | Neil Steinberg/Sun-Times

http://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/soon-you-can-look-here-for-that-water-that-used-to-be-in-your-basement/

“MWRD calls for green infrastructure projects,” South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association

Rain garden on Longwood Drive in Blue Island. Image courtesy of MWRD
Summary: The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) is seeking government partners to help construct green infrastructure projects throughout Cook County. Applications are being accepted until July 14 by the MWRD to help fund local projects that utilize green infrastructure (GI) to better manage stormwater.
GI is designed to capture water and allow it to infiltrate into the ground before it enters the traditional conveyance system. This helps to reduce the amount of water flowing through pipes that are often overwhelmed by increasingly intense rain events experienced throughout the region. The MWRD seeks local governmental entities, including municipalities, townships and county agencies, to submit potential GI projects within the MWRD’s service boundaries.
http://ssmma.org/mwrd-calls-for-green-infrastructure-projects/

“Walking the Walk: Minorities pursue STEM careers at Chicago water authority,” Diversity in Action

https://mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=421137&ver=html5&p=60

“It All Flows Downstream,” MarineLink

Omni Catamaran cleaning Chicago waterway (Photo: Elastec)
Oil spills, trash, debris, sediment, chemicals: how do we keep our waterways clean?
Summary: If an oil spill happens on water, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA90) has very clear rules on who is responsible for paying for cleanup costs. Most oil spills can be traced to the spiller – a pipeline owner, oil tanker, shipper, railroad or trucking company. “Pointing a finger” at the alleged party may be why this type of pollution is referred to as “point source.” If the oil spill is ruled an accident and the polluter is not legally responsible, funds from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) may be used to cover the cleanup cost. “Nonpoint source” water pollution is seemingly endless and cannot be easily tracked to a distinct source making it difficult to “finger” a perpetrator.
Stewards of the Waterways
Who is responsible for cleaning up nonpoint source water pollution? The onus falls on municipalities – specifically, MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) Stormwater Managers – women and men who are often unnoticed, underpaid and under-funded for the work they do to keep our inland waterways clean. Their job descriptions are broadly and deeply detailed and can be found on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website. Many of our U.S. municipalities have Combined Sewer Systems (CSS) which are major sources of nonpoint source pollution, especially after stormwater events. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) has spent years and millions of dollars to upgrade its water system. Located primarily within the boundaries of Cook County, the MWRD treats an average of 1.4 billion gallons of wastewater each day and controls 76.1 miles of the Chicago Areas Waterways (CAWS), which are part of the inland waterway system connecting the Great Lakes with the Gulf of Mexico. The MWRD receives flow from combined sewer collection systems, which means that wastewater and stormwater flow together in a single pipe. Some of the excess water is stored into the MWRD’s Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) system, but too much runoff finds its way to the CAWS – and so does trash. Floating debris such as Styrofoam, plastic bottles and cigarette butts create health risks, kill marine life and cause flooding.
Using Omni Catamarans to Skim Floatables from the River
One of the many initiatives in the MWRD plan was to skim floatables to keep the Chicago River clean. A Carmi, Illinois company, Elastec, with a core competency in oil spill recovery systems, worked with MWRD to develop two custom trash and debris skimming and collection boats, the ELASTEC Omni Catamarans. Originally characterized as a “trash boat,” this 23-foot/7-meter aluminum vessel has interchangeable pods for various waterway tasks. One of the pods that can be positioned between the hulls is designed specifically for floating trash collection. Elastec also offers pods for quay wall and river walk wash down, boat sanitation pump-out, cargo hauling and an A-frame for winching.
With the deck plates in place, the Omni Catamaran is prepared to support a variety of maintenance missions. MWRD requested a simple design, with few moving parts, and easy to operate. The 23 foot MWRD boats, named Skimmy Dipper and Skim Pickens, are designed for daily trash skimming near Navy Pier and along seven miles of the river.
https://www.marinelink.com/news/downstream-flows-all426965

“Vancouver firm harvests wastewater systems for profit,” Daily Commercial News

Vancouver-based Ostara has developed a technology to extract phosphorous and nitrogen from the
wastewater stream and create fertilizer pellets. - Photo: ALBERT NORMANDIN, COURTESY OF OSTARA

Summary: It wasn’t so long ago wastewater treatment facilities were just plain old sewage treatment plants. Today, the nomenclature is shifting again as municipalities latch on to innovative technologies to coax a revenue stream out of what has traditionally been a cost centre.
Ostara, a Vancouver-based maker of technology to extract phosphorous and nitrogen from the wastewater stream and create fertilizer pellets, is at the forefront of that wave. Nutrient pollution is one of the biggest environmental challenges. While they are necessary to aquatic ecosystems, once levels start to grow past normal, problems result. Algae blooms uncontrollably, Ostara explains, decreasing oxygen levels for the other organisms and threatening their survival. Nitrogen turns to ammonia and if it pollutes drinking water causes health problems in humans.
Ostara says there are more than "400 dead zones around the world, with one of the largest in the Gulf of Mexico fed by runoff from the Mississippi River, which in turn is fed by runoff from the massive river basin network that feeds into it and stretches broadly across the U.S. heartland and all the way to the north." However, phosphates and nitrogen are valuable commodities and instead of literally flushing them down the waterways, best practices call for their extraction, processing and sale. The trick, of course, is to create a process at sufficient scale to be commercially viable and that's where Ostara comes in with its Pearl system producing Crystal Green fertilizer.
Ostara's technology is based on its Pearl fluidized bed reactor which prompts the nutrients in the stream to crystalize and grow into pure fertilizer granules. At a specific size they are harvested, dried and packaged for distribution. Ostara says the Pearl process removes up to 85 per cent of phosphorous and 15 per cent of nitrogen while also triggering a 25 per cent reduction in biosolids production, with a four per cent improvement in biosolids dewatering. Payback on investment can be in as little as three to five years, although it varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Projects start in the $2- to $3-million range and go up. The world's largest full treatment plant, the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant in Chicago, which has a wet weather capacity of 5.3-million cubic metres of flow a day, has a unit which costs $30 million.
http://dailycommercialnews.com/en-US/Technology/News/2017/7/Vancouver-firm-harvests-wastewater-systems-for-profit-1025355W/

"Editorial: Saving the Chicago River from sewage,"” Chicago Tribune

Here's the pessimist's version of the story: The Chicago River is a polluted waterway that is inundated with wastewater anytime there's a heavy rain. Last July, a storm washed more than 2.6 billion gallons of sewage and runoff into the river.
Even the city's new downtown treasure is lapped by water teeming with nasty microbes. "My guess is that most people flocking to the Riverwalk aren't aware of the intestinal miasma just a few feet away from them," Henry Henderson, Midwest director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, told the Tribune's Michael Hawthorne. The vast Deep Tunnel project, intended to divert wastewater from rivers and lakes, began in 1975 – but won't be finished until 2029. The optimistic version? In the 1970s, state and local officials undertook a huge, expensive plan that would take decades to complete, by which time many of them would be dead. It has paid off already in huge improvements in the quality of the Chicago River, which once was little more than a sewage channel.
"Our once polluted and fenced off river now is home to over 70 species of fish and all kinds of other wildlife including beavers, muskrats, mink, snapping turtles, great blue heron and occasionally river otters," reports Friends of the Chicago River. At one time, no one would have dreamed of setting out on it in a kayak or a scull, but those are common sights today. The Deep Tunnel project, consisting of a network of mammoth reservoirs and giant pipes, has been a major part of the effort to bring the river back to health. By providing places for excess water to go, it keeps a large volume of sewage out of places where it doesn't belong. It's also a way to reduce flooding of streets and basements across the region — much of which, remember, was once swamps and marshes.
The system has been in the works for so long that it's easy to discount its value. But at the outset, it was proclaimed, accurately, as "one of the largest civil engineering projects on Earth." It took a great deal of money, foresight and resolve by people in government to take on such a huge investment – with a price tag expected to reach $4 billion and a payoff that wouldn't emerge for decades.
We on this page often criticize politicians for worrying about their short-term interests with little concern for the future. That approach has saddled Illinois and Chicago with huge debts, crushing pension obligations, a dire fiscal predicament and a poor climate for economic growth. Lawmakers often borrow from our grandchildren to appease powerful constituencies today. But eventually tomorrow comes, and the effects of this myopic approach become painfully evident. The Deep Tunnel is an example of doing pretty much the opposite: asking people to pay up front for future gains. It's not a panacea. Cleaning up and beautifying the Chicago River has required an array of measures, including limits on industrial discharges and fertilizer runoff, disinfection of normal sewage flows, and restoring native plants and habitat along once-blighted banks. But it has played a major part in the turnaround.
Much remains to be done. As Hawthorne reported, the Deep Tunnel will not be enough to totally eliminate overflows from big storms, which are likely to become more frequent thanks to global climate change. Supplementary measures are needed. Under pressure to take more aggressive action, he wrote, city and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District officials are slowly embracing smaller-scale, neighborhood-focused projects designed to soak up or divert water.
But it's something of a marvel that this year, a reservoir created out of an enormous rock quarry in McCook will be connected to wastewater pipes, nearly three decades after that reservoir was approved by Congress. It will be able to hold some 3.5 billion gallons of stormwater until it can be treated. That wastewater won't end up in a river or a basement.
The entire project is the result of years of hard decisions and diligent work by people whose names have mostly been forgotten, if they were ever known, but who left a tangible legacy, and paid for by taxpayers who may no longer be around. It's been said that we all sit in the shade of trees we didn't plant. Someday, Chicagoans may swim in a river they didn't restore, because someone long ago did it for them.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-chicago-river-deep-tunnel-sewage-editorial-0627-md-20170626-story.html

“Welcome Back, Otters: Could The River Otter Call Chicago's Loop Home?,” WBEZ
June 25, 2017

David Jakubiak and his 6-year-old daughter, Anya, are fascinated by river otters. Even if you’re not an animal lover, it’s easy to understand why they’re drawn to this particular mammal. They’re the epitome of adorable — as if someone crossed a dog with a heavily whiskered teddy bear and released it into the wild.
The Jakubiaks live close to the Brookfield Zoo, where they often visit the otters and their newborn pups. So they’ve had plenty of opportunities to see them in captivity. But they’re also fairly certain they’ve seen muddy otter tracks at the nearby Salt Creek Trail. David says he’s also heard rumors that more people have been reporting otter sightings in Chicago’s Loop, near his office.
So he asked Curious City: Are otters actually settling in the main stem of the Chicago River? To clarify, David wants to know if the increasing number of otter sightings means that otters are creating permanent dens and breeding in the bustling parts of the river that pass right through downtown Chicago.
If otters are settling along the urban stretches of the Chicago River, that’s a big deal because 40 years ago, it would have been nearly impossible to find an otter in Illinois, nevermind Chicago. In the early 1980s, there were less than 100 North American river otters in the state. Thanks to a reintroduction program in the 1980s and 1990s and stricter environmental regulations, the population skyrocketed to nearly 20,000 by 2012.
Still, despite the increase in the otter population, David’s question about whether any of these otters are actually building dens and having pups near the Merchandise Mart or the Riverwalk isn’t easy to answer. It turns out, nobody knows — at least not yet. But it is something researchers in Chicago are trying to figure out. And one thing they do know is that in order for otters to thrive in the river downtown, they need clean water, access to food and the proper habitat.

Between 1994 and 1997, Bob Bluett and his team at the Department of Natural Resources relocated 346 river otters to Illinois. (Courtesy Bob Bluett)
The Urban Otter Project
Last year, the Cook County Forest Preserve and Chicago Zoological Society launched the Urban Otter Project to answer a question similar to the one David and Anya have: Do otters actually like being around Cook County and Chicago?
Wildlife biologist Chuck Rizzo, who is part of the project and has been tracking otters with transmitters, says the closest they've recorded otters settling to Chicago is a pond in Barrington.
But that doesn't mean it's impossible for otters to reach the main stem of the Chicago River downtown. They can travel pretty long distances, up to 20 miles in a day, during the summer months.
“They just get in the water and go,” Rizzo says.
By tracking the otters, Rizzo and his colleagues hope to learn more about what kinds of habitats they prefer for breeding, how far they’re willing to travel in order to find a suitable habitat and whether they’re spreading diseases.
But tracking otters in the river downtown can be more difficult than tracking them in other waterways, Rizzo says. That’s because cell phones and other telecommunication devices can actually interfere with the tracking system. Still, Rizzo says he thinks it’s possible his team will eventually track an otter to the main stem. The river has more food sources than it did before, and as far as cleanliness goes, there’s less industrial runoff and fewer people are dumping waste into the river, he says.
“People are more aware of the environment,” Rizzo says. “People are taking proper care of the river, and the government is doing more now to let environments thrive.”

Chuck Rizzo and his team monitor the local otter population using transmitters. (Courtesy Jeff Nelson)
Cleaner river, better habitat
The Chicago River was once heavily polluted and not the kind of waterway that animals like otters might call home. But there have been local efforts to clean up the river, and government regulations have also had an impact on improving the water quality, says Bob Bluett, a wildlife biologist for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. "Before, there were only a few fish species [in the state] and the water wasn't very pleasant," Bluett says. "But that got better over time as regulations kicked into gear.” Specifically, Bluett says the Clean Water Act of 1972 “did wonders” for cutting down industrial and city waste and, as a result, it helped boost biodiversity in the river. With more biodiversity comes more food sources for otters. According to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, 59 different species of fish have been collected from the Chicago area waterways system since 2000. And it’s not just the type of fish that’s increasing. The MWRD report says the total number of fish caught along the Chicago River has also spiked, and it credits water treatment operations decreasing the level of harmful substances like ammonia. Cleaner water means more fish. More fish means more food for otters. Plus, cleaner water attracts other animals, like beavers, that will build and, eventually, abandon habitats otters will use later on.
“You really want to make sure that multiple habitats are healthy,” says Claire Snyder, a conservation specialist at the nonprofit organization Friends of the Chicago River. Snyder says clean water also attracts another key species: humans. In the past, she says people were put off by the river’s polluted reputation. But as the river gets cleaner, more people are seeing the environment thrive and want to help with environment-related projects.
“People are coming to the river for recreation and they're like, 'Oh I saw an otter. What can I do to help the river out?'” Snyder says.
Projects aimed at things like habitat restoration both directly and indirectly benefit otters. And eventually it could encourage them to settle in the Chicago River, Snyder says.
And that would offer people like our question asker David a chance to finally spot an otter and get a little bit closer to nature, even in the midst of downtown Chicago.
https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-city/could-the-river-otter-call-chicagos-loop-home/7b4d62de-49ee-4195-bf63-95625510ddda

“New Interactive MWRD Webpage Makes Waterway Data Accessible,” Evanston Round Table
A team of MWRD aquatic biologists and research technicians survey the Chicago area waterways to study the fish population. As demand for recreation and other activity on the Chicago area waterways increases, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) wants to keep users of these rivers and streams informed of local water quality and aquatic life. The MWRD recently introduced a new mapping tool to help the public understand the health of the Chicago area waterways through data that the MWRD collects to monitor the waterways' ecosystems and the rising fish populations. The application, which can be found by visiting gispub.mwrd.org/awqa/, covers water quality, fish monitoring, and continuous dissolved oxygen data, and pinpoints these data to a map of sampling stations in Chicago area waterways.
"We are excited to offer this new web-based amenity to keep users informed and prepare them for what they may encounter when recreating, fishing and visiting our waterways," said MWRD President Mariyana Spyropoulos. "We have come a long way in improving our water quality and this meticulous data collection will convey what those records show through a transparent and user-friendly online tool."
The MWRD collects monthly water samples at 28 locations throughout the agency's 883-square-mile service area throughout Cook County. They then return these samples to the lab, where they analyze the water for dozens of chemical and biological constituents. Visitors to the website can review water quality data for ammonia, chloride, fecal coliform, phosphorus and suspended solids. The MWRD also maintains 18 continuous water quality monitoring stations that collect hourly dissolved oxygen, temperature, and specific conductance measurements in area waterways. The MWRD conducts fish monitoring periodically throughout its service area, which includes the Chicago, Calumet, and Des Plaines River Systems. The number of fish species found in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) has drastically increased since the 1970s when monitoring of the fish population first began. From 10 known species in 1974, that number has ballooned to 76 in 2016, including 59 that have been found in the CAWS since 2000. Thanks in part to advancements at MWRD water treatment operations, the waterways have experienced decreases in levels of ammonia and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). The BOD captures the degree of pollution by measuring the amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) that must be present in water for microorganisms to break down organic matter in the water at a certain temperature over a time period.
"Over the past couple of decades, the world has been profoundly changed by the increased availability of data," said MWRD Commissioner Debra Shore. "We hope that making data about our waterways more accessible and user-friendly will help people understand our water environment better - because it's hard to care about something you don't understand."
These water quality improvements have proven to be essential factors for nurturing aquatic life, while the MWRD's Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) has also helped reduce the amount of combined sewer overflows (CSO), leading to less polluted water and healthier homes for freshwater fish living in the CAWS. In addition to TARP and other measures to improve water quality, the MWRD has introduced sidestream elevated pool aeration stations to help inject needed oxygen into the waterways and implemented chlorination/dechlorination technologies to disinfect water at its Calumet Water Reclamation Plant, and UV disinfection at its O'Brien Water Reclamation Plant.
Scientists with the MWRD and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Argonne National Laboratory are also currently examining water quality through a groundbreaking seven-year study. The CAWS Microbiome Study examines the complex microbial communities in the CAWS using advanced analytical and computational tools to explore what microorganisms exist, where they came from and what they are doing. The early results indicate that Chicago area waterways have healthy and diverse microbial communities. Like many other river systems, the communities vary in their makeup based on location and a variety of other factors, but are generally stable. In addition to offering this website to promote transparency and keep the public informed of waterway quality, the MWRD is partnering with other regional agencies and organizations on a campaign to address waterway safety.
http://www.evanstonroundtable.com/main.asp?SectionID=15&SubSectionID=26&ArticleID=13799

"Bike Commuter Challenge Underway,"  bikecommuterchallenge.org
The annual bike commuter challenge is underway, and currently, the MWRD is in front of the pack for public agencies. If you are participating, whether you ride 1 mile or 100, please remember to track your miles through the bike commuter challenge website and send any pictures to EmployeeNews@mwrd.org.

“MWRD Seeks Government Partners for Green Infrastructure Projects,” Storm Water Solutions Magazine
Project will help manage storm water in Cook County, Ill.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) announced it is seeking government partners to help construct green infrastructure projects throughout Cook County. The project will help fund local projects that utilize green infrastructure (GI) to better manage storm water. Applications will be accepted until July 14. GI is designed to capture water and allow it to infiltrate the ground before it enters the traditional conveyance system. This helps reduce the amount of water flowing through pipes that are often overwhelmed by increasingly intense rain events experienced throughout the region. MWRD seeks local governmental entities, including municipalities, townships and county agencies, to submit potential GI projects within the MWRD's service boundaries.
"We are excited to launch this application process to collaborate with communities on green infrastructure projects that reduce flooding and promote clean water. If your community has a potential project in mind, we want to hear from you," said MWRD President Mariyana Spyropoulos. "As the regional authority on storm water for Cook County, we have seen how the natural long-term benefits of green infrastructure can provide solutions to managing the storm water that confronts our communities each spring and summer."
MWRD also recognizes that GI practices can supplement conventional gray infrastructure, which traditionally enlists concrete pipes to convey storm water. GI, on the other hand, mimics the natural environment by handling precipitation where it falls by detaining and infiltrating runoff through rain gardens, permeable pavement, cisterns and other practices.
GI's impact is not limited to flooding concerns. GI can reduce wet-weather flows to combined sewer systems, reducing combined sewer overflows to local waterways and protecting water quality in these vital waterways. GI also reduces runoff volumes and improves water quality in separate sewer service areas. In addition, GI provides social benefits that enhance the livability of communities.
"The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago acknowledges the vital role of local government in addressing flooding concerns through the innovative use of green infrastructure. They are the first to experience the influx of water and the first to be impacted by flooding concerns," said MWRD Commissioner Martin J. Durkan. "That's why we want to partner with these local communities to help fund and complete these projects and better prepare us for today's emerging water concerns."
MWRD intends to provide partial funding towards the construction of selected GI installations on public property. Selected project partners will be expected to provide long-term operation and maintenance of the installed GI practices, among other responsibilities to be defined through intergovernmental agreements with the MWRD and the selected applicant partners. MWRD will prioritize the submitted projects based on the project's storm water benefits, the capability of the applicant to operate and maintain the GI practices, and the visibility of the project in terms of providing educational opportunities amongst other factors.

Calling All Green Infrastructure Projects: MWRD Welcomes Government Partners," Water Online

Summary: The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) is seeking government partners to help construct green infrastructure projects throughout Cook County. Applications are being accepted until July 14 by the MWRD to help fund local projects that utilize green infrastructure (GI) to better manage stormwater. GI is designed to capture water and allow it to infiltrate into the ground before it enters the traditional conveyance system. This helps to reduce the amount of water flowing through pipes that are often overwhelmed by increasingly intense rain events experienced throughout the region. The MWRD seeks local governmental entities, including municipalities, townships and county agencies, to submit potential GI projects within the MWRD's service boundaries.
Eligibility requirements and instructions are included in the application form. The deadline for submission is July 14, 2017.
https://www.wateronline.com/doc/calling-all-green-infrastructure-projects-mwrd-welcomes-government-partners-0001

Local Nonprofit Installing Floating Wildlife Sanctuary In Chicago River,” PR Newswire
Summary: Urban Rivers, a Chicago-based nonprofit, will be installing a 166-square-foot floating garden in the Chicago River on the east side of Goose Island this weekend (June 10-11). This project, which is four years in the making, will provide much needed habitat for the city's wildlife and serve as a destination for kayakers and pedestrians to connect with nature in the heart of Chicago.
Chicago Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) research supports this vision. The water quality has improved in recent decades and is no longer the primary factor preventing the Chicago River from having healthy, optimal fish and wildlife populations. The primary problem now is lack of habitat. Aquatic wildlife requires structure and cover in their environment to survive. Currently, the channelized Chicago River offers neither.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/local-nonprofit-installing-floating-wildlife-sanctuary-in-chicago-river-300471692.html

“CNT to work with MWRD, city on flood control in Chatham,” CNT.org
Reprint of Chicago Defender coverage: The Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) adopted legislation today to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the City of Chicago to initiate a research pilot study in the Chatham neighborhood of Chicago to gain insight into the effectiveness of various technologies aimed at reducing basement backups and flooding in Chatham. Commissioner Kari K. Steele, a former Chatham resident, who has championed this effort, commended the MWRD staff and the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) for their diligence to help address this critical issue in the Chatham community, stating “I’m excited about this project and my colleagues and I fully support this pilot study and understand firsthand the chronic urban flooding that affects this area.” Steele further commented that not only would the project reduce basement backups, but it would also “take pressure off of the local sewer lines, and serve as a model for other neighborhoods that experience urban flooding across the Chicagoland area”. Chatham was selected for the study because of its history of regular basement backups. The study area will include approximately 40 residential properties and will evaluate low-cost improvements in reducing basement backups and flooding, such as downspout disconnection and extension, rain gardens, check values and backflow preventers. The average cost of insurance claims filed for water-backup damages to property in Chatham from 2007 to 2011 was $7,723, according to CNT, a Chicago-based non-profit that operates the RainReady program to assist property owners in managing flooding issues, and the consultant chosen to administer the pilot study on behalf of the MWRD and the City. The study will cost an estimated $600,000, with the MWRD contributing $400,000 and the City of Chicago adding $200,000.
http://www.cnt.org/press/cnt-to-work-with-mwrd-city-on-flood-control-in-chatham

“US Water Alliance releases "An Equitable Water Future Report,” US Water Alliance
The US Water Alliance has released “An Equitable Water Future” report that explores the impacts of water management on disadvantaged communities and the opportunities to build more equitable water systems. The MWRD’s Space to Grow partnership with Openlands, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Department of Water Management, and Healthy Schools Campaign is highlighted on page 46:
Space to Grow Chicago Maximizing environmental and community benefits by transforming schoolyards
When utilities invest in water infrastructure improvements, they can partner with other initiatives—such as school and transportation improvements—to create mutually beneficial gains. With environmental sustainability in mind, Space to Grow transforms underutilized schoolyards in many of Chicago’s low-income communities into attractive, purposeful spaces for students to learn, play, and enjoy the outdoors. Most CPS school yards are covered in asphalt, and 10 percent of the city’s population, primarily in the lowest quarter of median household income, does not live within half a mile of a park. Space to Grow schoolyards support a healthy and active lifestyle by creating spaces for students to play outside, offering educational opportunities for students to learn about the environment in their own schoolyard, and establishing lively spaces for people to come together as communities after school and on the weekends. Space to Grow partners include Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Department of Water Management, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Openlands, and Healthy Schools Campaign. Through this partnership, Space to Grow has implemented green infrastructure in schoolyards that helps address flooding by capturing excess water and creating outdoor classrooms. Chicago Public Schools is one of the largest owners of impermeable surfaces in the city— it is estimated they own over 750 acres of blacktop alone—providing a previously untapped opportunity for changing the way stormwater is managed on public property. Space to Grow schoolyards incorporate rain gardens, native plants, water storage under parking lots and turf fields, permeable asphalt, pavers, and rubber play surfaces to capture excess water. In doing so, the city not only recycles water—it also helps prevent sewage overflows, keeping the water supply clean. Along with green infrastructure features, Space to Grow schoolyards include outdoor classrooms, edible gardens, turf fields, tracks, basketball and tennis courts, and playground equipment. Since many disadvantaged communities lack the resources and funding for school facilities, Space to Grow develops these much-needed spaces and works with the communities themselves to implement them through a months-long planning process. Teachers, parents, and other members of the community are actively engaged in the planning and implementation of Space to Grow projects in their communities, ensuring early buy-in and providing a base of support for using and maintaining the schoolyards in the long term. The partnership’s work benefits Chicago’s students, communities, and the local environment. Space to Grow partners transform schoolyards into outdoor classrooms.
The full report can be found at http://uswateralliance.org/initiatives/water-equity

“Blue Island hosts Dragon Boat Festival Saturday,” Daily Southtown

Paddlers participate in last year's Dragon Boat Festival in Blue Island. This year's event is June 3 at MWRD's Waterfall Park, with races beginning at 9:45 a.m.

Summary: The second annual Chicago Southland Dragon Boat Festival on Saturday in Blue Island will offer a spectacular display of teamwork and synchronization, fest organizers said. When this year's festival gets started at 9:45 a.m. on the Cal-Sag, it will feature the collaborative spirit of paddlers who pull together during this fun competition.
The day-long event includes dragon boat races, jumping into Cal-Sag, a craft beer village and music with from" These Old Men They Play Records." There also will be an afterparty at the Blue Island Beer Company on Old Western Avenue.
The festival will be held at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District's (MWRD) Waterfall Park at Chatham and Fulton streets, and is free and open to the public. This year's event so far has 14 teams of 21 — up from eight teams last year, said Brown, who participated in last year's event.
The dragon boat race is an "ancient Chinese activity" held in honor of a fallen leader, Brown said. It features teams of 21 members — 20 paddlers plus one seated in front, beating on a drum.
In the Blue Island event, each race is about 250 meters, or 90 seconds long, and each team competes three times. Novices can compete with very little training or instruction, and participants can do exercises to prepare for it, Brown said, adding that some teammates are meeting for the first time on race day.
Trophies are awarded in three divisions — professional, amateur and community. The Blue Island event is one of three dragon races in the Chicago area, with two others in Chicago's Chinatown and Arlington Heights, Brown said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/news/ct-sta-blue-island-dragon-boat-fest-st-0601-20170531-story.html

Wastewater Treatment Goes Carbon Neutral,” Engineering News Record Midwest

Each of the new primary settling tanks at the Stickney Water Reclamation plant is 160 ft in diameter.
PHOTOs COURTESY OF JEFF YODERS/ENR

Before the modernization at Stickney is completed, IHC and F.H. Paschen will place more than 72,000 cu yd of concrete

The new pipes and effluent troughs at the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant will be completely contained to both capture methane and spare neighbors from odor.

Full article text: A $427-million redesign and modernization of the world’s largest wastewater treatment plant is about a year away from converting the facility to larger primary settling tanks and a cleaner aerated grit facility. Those steps will also make it the greenest sewage and stormwater treatment plant in the area. Sprawling across 413 acres in Cicero, Ill., just southwest of Chicago, the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant processes around 700 million gallons of storm and wastewater per day on average, but has the capacity to treat 1.2 billion gallons. The Stickney plant serves 2.38 million people over 260 square miles, including most of Chicago and 43 suburban communities. It’s one of six wastewater treatment plants and 23 pumping stations in the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC). Stickney is the largest wastewater treatment plant in the world. “It probably always will be the largest because no one in their right mind would build one this big today,” says Peter Nielsen, senior project manager for the joint venture general contractor IHC Construction of Elgin, Ill., and F.H. Paschen S.N. of Chicago, which is nearing the end of the $224-million tank and aerated grit facility modernization project. “If, say, Columbus, Ohio, somehow grew to the population size and density of Chicago, you would not build this large of a facility. They’d just build several smaller ones all around the area. The land was available when it was built and the technology at the time was all put in one place.” Stickney is actually two contiguous plants that went online more than 80 years ago. The western section came into service in 1927, while the southwest section followed six years later; both are named for the areas of Chicago they serve. The problem that design engineer Greeley & Hansen had to tackle in the redesign was that the 1930s technology the expansive double plant depends on had long ago surpassed its useful life. Between 2003 and 2005, the engineer collaborated with Black & Veatch on a master plan, which is currently at Phase 2 of its implementation. The IHC/F.H. Paschen joint venture began Phase 2 construction in January 2015 and is targeting completion by April 2018. To clean and reuse all that wastewater, Stickney previously used 108 Imhoff tanks in three batteries across the property. Named for the German engineer that invented them, Karl Imhoff, the tanks clarify sewage by simple settling and sedimentation, along with anaerobic digestion of the extracted sludge. “There are no mechanical parts to an Imhoff, and it is a very slow process,” Nielsen says. “Modern tanks have rake arms and other mechanical features that can separate waste from water far more quickly.”

Waste That Produces its Own Fuel
Off-gassing of biological waste from the settling Imhoff batteries was also leading to increased greenhouse gas emissions and a nasty odor for residential neighbors, some of whom live directly across the street from the plant’s main entrance. Converting to circular primary sedimentation tanks (PSTs) will accelerate wastewater treatment, with the added benefit of increasing by 15% the amount of digester gas available for the plant to use to fuel its operations. In 2004, when MWRDGC evaluated and approved Greeley & Hansen’s redesign, project officials estimated the savings on natural gas at $700,000 per year. Commodity prices of natural gas have fallen since then, but the district would still save from buying less of it. Methane can replace natural gas and producing its own digester gas will help Stickney achieve its goal of being carbon neutral by 2023, in part by an estimated reduction of 536,185 tons per year of CO2 emissions saved through methane capture and reuse. The MWRDGC will not have to purchase as much natural gas and other fossil fuels because it can burn the methane that covered effluent troughs will capture while also containing the smell. “The new PSTs will be much easier to take care of—maintenance and operations-wise—versus the Imhoff tanks,” says Ryan Christopher, Greeley & Hansen’s lead engineer for the current modernization phase. “Once this is up and running, it will be pushing 720 million gallons per day through the west side. That’s half of Stickney’s capable output, but most plants in the U.S. don’t even process a fraction of that … The new PSTs will give them much better control of their primary sludge, and they are expecting to increase their digester gas production once the PSTs are online.”

The Phase 2 Upgrade
A joint venture of Chicago-area construction companies George Sollitt/Sachi Group and Alworth Construction completed the $41.2-million first phase of the modernization in 2013 when crews demolished one battery of Imhoff tanks and settling tanks to make room for the nine 160-ft-dia, cast-in-place reinforced concrete PSTs. In addition to constructing the tanks, during Phase 2 crews are building covered effluent troughs to contain plant odor, two operating galleries to monitor operations and four tunnel access pump stations. Additionally, workers are constructing a secondary switchgear building with two 13.2-KV/480-V step-down transformers and 480-V switchgear, the aerated grit facility for processing up to 720 million gallons per day of wastewater and a primary switchgear building housing 13.2-KV switchgear. Crews are also nearly finished restoring the facility’s existing west grit chamber and screen house. “Our project will reorganize the flow of wastewater from the existing grit and fine screens building. The flow will come up from the pumping station through a screening building and then through our new aerated grit facility and then into these nine primary settling tanks,” Nielsen says. “When we’re online, these tanks will do everything that the Imhoff batteries did.” The scope of the job approaches the scale of Stickney itself. Overall, contractors will place an estimated 72,000 cu yd of concrete before Stickney switches to the new process, scheduled for July 2018. The modernization’s third phase, estimated at $110 million and planned to start in 2019, will add nine more primary settling tanks.
http://www.enr.com/articles/42002-wastewater-treatment-goes-carbon-neutral

“Students to receive certificates, boat ride from MWRD on June 15,” Von Steuben School
Full article text: This June, Ivery Marquez & Emma DeVarenne will receive their City Science Fair awards for a Superior Science Project from The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. Ivery and Emma will have the opportunity to talk to members of the Board of Commissioners about their science fair projects, Trash to Gas: Biomass and Algae Fuel. They will enjoy a boat tour of Lake Michigan and the Chicago River, where they will learn first-hand how the District's water reclamation plants, Deep Tunnel and storm-water management efforts have improved the quality of our local waterways.
https://sites.google.com/site/vonsteubensciencefair/2016-2017-fair/metropolitan-water-reclamation-district-of-greater-chicago

"Homewood residents to race dragon boats, plunge into Cal-Sag at festival," Homewood Flossmoor News

Summary: The second Annual Chicago Southland Dragon Boat Festival will offer the chance to compete or explore a unique sport to kick off the summer. The event is scheduled for June 3 at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago’s waterfall park along the Cal-Sag Channel near the intersection of Fulton Street and Chatham Street in Blue Island.  Homewood residents Matt White and Candace Irby will be racing for the second time. White said last year’s festival was the first time he’d been on a dragon boat. “I had never heard of the sport before that. I had to hop on YouTube to figure out what it was,” he said. “The sport is exhausting but a lot of fun. During the race itself you almost can't even look up to see if your team is winning or losing. You are so focused on keeping the rhythm of the paddling going that you block everything else out.” Some of the teams are very competitive, White said. But festival organizers will also group together teams of novices and even teach them how to follow the commands and proper technique. This year’s festival also includes a welcome reception at Rock Island Public House June 2 after team practices and an after-party June 3 at The Blue Island Beer Company. Instructors from Great White North Dragon Boat Racing will manage practices May 31 and June 1. The race route will go by the new Chatham Street pedestrian bridge which will be part of the planned Cal Sag trail connection through Blue Island. The festival is sponsored by MWRD, the city of Blue Island administration, police and fire, the U.S. Coast Guard, Metra and local businesses and organizations. The Cal-Sag Plunge is being held in conjunction with the dragon boat races this year. About a dozen plungers dive into the Cal-Sag channel to raise money for Friends of the Cal-Sag Trail, which is helping to complete a 26-mile bicycle path along the canal. The event is also an effort to show the improvements made to the waterway.
http://hfchronicle.com/article/2017/may/21/homewood-residents-race-dragon-boats-plunge-cal-sag-festival

“River Park Dam Removal, Riverbank Restoration Gets Green Light,” DNA Info

Chicago River Dam Waterfall

Full article text: A proposal to demolish a 100-year-old dam in River Park and improve wildlife habitat along the Chicago River received a thumbs up Wednesday from the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners. The plan, first presented to the public in March, is to remove the dam and replace it with a series of manmade "riffle pools" — sections where the river will stream over rocks and create movement that mimics rapids. Essentially, the riffle pools will trade the dam's single four-foot drop for three one-foot drops, giving fish a chance to swim upstream along the North Branch, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which will oversee the project. The Army Corps would also undertake restoration of the adjacent riverbank, pulling out invasive plants and replacing them with native species that are friendlier to birds, pollinators and other creatures. The plan is to also create a more stable, gradual slope that would allow people to get closer to the river. The cost is estimated at $2.1 million: 65 percent will be financed through the federal Great Lakes Fisheries and Ecosystem Restoration Program; the remainder will be split between the Park District and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. "The Army Corps anticipates having funds available in 2017-2018," according to a statement from the Park District. A second phase of the project, which would restore habitat and grade the riverbank slope in sections of Legion and Ronan parks, is dependent on the release of additional federal dollars. The Army Corps does not expect those funds will be available in the next fiscal year; a five-year timeline has been set. Completion of both phases would cost a total of $14.5 million, with the Park District and MWRD on the hook for a combined $4.3 million.
https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170518/albany-park/river-park-dam-removal-riverbank-restoration-gets-green-light

"Council hires firm to review Winnetka stormwater management guidelines," Chicago Tribune
Full article text: Winnetka officials are looking to update and improve the stormwater management policies and regulations the village now has on its books, and on Tuesday village council members approved hiring a Warrenville-based engineering company to provide that analysis. Engineering Resource Associates (ERA) will be paid $48,077 to review the village's existing stormwater control regulations, which affect new development and any redevelopment in the village, according to Public Works Director Steve Saunders. The work will be done over the summer, with final results expected in November, Saunders told trustees before they approved the contract. He said ERA was one of four firms that responded to Winnetka's request for proposals. Although its bid was $182 higher than the lowest bit, Saunders said staff favored the company in part because it has completed similar projects for Cook and DuPage counties. The contract calls for ERA engineers to evaluate existing Winnetka development regulations, including its 2014 stormwater master plan, and its public works and engineering design guidelines, according to Saunders' report to trustees. ERA's team will meet several times during the project with village staff, as well as with Winnetka's environmental and forestry committee, its zoning board of appeals and plan commission, and with its design review board, the report stated. The work would also include reviewing stormwater management industry standard best management practice, plus looking at what Saunders called "the universe of the six-county (Chicago) area" for existing community stormwater ordinances, cataloging them and using them as source material for potential updates to the village's own guidelines. Doing the review and update allows the village to maintain compliance with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District's countywide watershed management ordinance, he said. Trustee Scott Myers asked if engineers would also analyze the ordinances they look at, to consider how the village might be affected by implementing them. "Some obviously would be more controversial and others would be more straightforward," Saunders said of sample ordinances ERA might bring to the table. He said deciding which ones, if any, to use, would include looking at such impacts. "One of the things we're going to have to wrestle with, more on a policy basis, is that there may be some (ordinances) that might have a powerful runoff effect, but for some reason bump up against other community values," Saunders said. The engineering firm will also be expected to make public presentations to the council on its recommendations, according to Saunders' report. Trustee Penny Lanphier told him that she would like to know more details on that process, including when residents would be able to give their feedback on any eventual recommendations. She said she would not like the process to restrict public feedback until the very end.
Council hires firm to review Winnetka stormwater management guidelines

“Blue Island to host Dragon boats,” Beverly Review
Full article text: Dragon Boat racing is a sport where teamwork and synchronization are by far the largest contributors to a team’s success. So perhaps it’s not too surprising that a similar collaborative spirit has emerged in Blue Island, as the historic south side city prepares to host the Chicago Southland Dragon Boat Festival on Saturday, June 3. “We had a dream to move this festival to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Waterfall Park in Blue Island,” said Kevin Brown, festival organizer and community advocate. “It’s an incredible spot for events; close to public transportation and both entertainment districts in town. But nobody had ever held anything there before. We needed permitting and approval from quite a few entities, not to mention the massive amount of clean-up necessary to get the site festival-ready.” But a beautiful thing happened in Blue Island. Lots of beautiful things. Turns out the Browns weren’t the only ones hoping to show off their hometown’s portion of the forthcoming Cal-Sag Trail and MWRD’s success in massively improving the canal’s water quality. Not only did Brown get the approvals he needed from the City of Blue Island and MWRD to host the Dragon Boat festival at the location, he also started getting offers of help—lots of them, from Chicago Southland CVB, Friends of the Cal-Sag Trail, Friends of The Chicago River—to make it happen in the biggest and best way possible. “Everyone seemed to just get it,” said Brown. “At every level.” “The Chicago Area Waterway System has been synonymous with the MWRD since our founding in 1889, so it’s great to see communities like Blue Island interacting with this often-times forgotten treasure,” said David St. Pierre, MWRD executive director. “I encourage everyone to come on down to enjoy exciting activities like the dragon boat races and interact with our waterway.” St. Pierre doesn’t just talk the talk. He’ll be showcasing the ultimate interaction with the Cal-Sag as a participant in the Friends of the Cal-Sag Trail Plunge, an annual fundraiser culminating with community leaders, activists and other brave souls keeping their pledge to donors and jumping in to the Cal-Sag. The Plunge will take place at noon during a break in the dragon boat races. “We’re proud to partner with the Browns, our businesses, organizations, officials and residents to make events like this happen in Blue Island,” said City of Blue Island Mayor Domingo Vargas. “We’re all pulling from the same end of the rope, and by combining our efforts, we’re able to shine an even brighter spotlight on all the things that make Blue Island special.”  And the huge job of getting the grounds ready to host 15 twenty-one person teams of dragon boat paddlers and hundreds of area craft beer lovers and food enthusiasts? That’s happening too, with a lot of help from the city, MWRD and Friends of the Chicago River, who facilitated a volunteer clean-up effort at the park and adjacent lots on May 13 as part of their annual Chicago River Day celebration. Brown co-captained the event with Monica Giermak, water resources specialist with Christopher B. Burke Engineering. “I can’t say enough about the residents, business owners, elected officials, and clubs and organizations in town and all over the south side, and their commitment to community activism,” said Brown. “We’re comprised of so many diverse backgrounds, experiences, religious beliefs, and ethnicities in Blue Island, but inside, our hearts are all blue.” Team and individual paddler registration for the 2017 Chicago Southland Dragon Boat Festival can be found on the festival’s Web site, chicagodragonboats.com. The festival, held at the MWRD Waterfall Park/SEPA Station #3, in Blue Island, will include dragon boat races, Friends of the Cal-Sag Trail Plunge, Rock Island Public House Craft Beer Village featuring food and craft beer, music from These Old Men They Play Records, and an after party at the Blue Island Beer Company.
http://www.beverlyreview.net/news/entertainment_news/article_e9b7b920-3a57-11e7-b435-23b7ce9b73ff.html

“New technology installed at fields,” Beverly Review

Workers from Markam Eco Construction install an Energy-passive Groundwater Recharge Product drainage system at a ballfield on the southwest end of Mt. Greenwood Park on May 10. Most of the fields received the system, created by Detroit-based Parjana Distribution. According to 19th Ward Ald. Matt O’Shea, Mt. Greenwood Park has experienced standing-water problems that are worse than other local parks. According to officials, the project was completed May 12, and the fields were then ready for use.

Summary: For years, the only thing worse than a rainout for ball players at Mt. Greenwood Park was a cancellation because the fields were still soaked days later—even after a modest rainfall. To deal with standing water on the fields, officials decided to use new technology instead of installing a traditional drainage system. Energy-passive Groundwater Recharge Product (EGRP) was installed at seven of the eight ballfields at Mt. Greenwood Park through an $80,000 pilot project funded by the Chicago Park District and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD). From May 9 to May 12, Parjana Distribution, based in Detroit, installed 8,000 linear feet of EGRP, which, according to officials, allows storm water to travel and filter naturally without impacting existing sewer lines. According to 19th Ward Ald. Matt O’Shea, local baseball and softball seasons run from April through June, and fields at Mt. Greenwood, Beverly, Kennedy and Ridge parks are the site of many games and special events. Rainy weather can leave standing water on these fields, but the problem has been especially bad at Mt. Greenwood. “Mt. Greenwood holds more than any of them,” O’Shea said. “The amount of days we lose per summer to rainouts, not because it’s raining out now but because it rained last night or two nights ago and the field just holds water, it’s been a problem.” According to Parjana installer Steve Legal, EGRP are installed vertically into the ground, and the system directs water into the ground to soil holding less water.
http://www.beverlyreview.net/news/community_news/article_e1e82dc0-3a47-11e7-8274-77383d5393a7.html

“Environmental Markets Association to host roundtable June 21,” EMAHQ.org
Summary: The Environmental Markets Association is hosting a half-day roundtable discussion on Wednesday, June 21 at the Dentons’ law office offices at 233 South Wacker Drive, Suite 5900, Chicago. This roundtable will include two panel discussions and an open Q&A forum. At 1p.m., a panel titled “Emerging Water Quality Nutrient Trading” moderated by Jeffrey Fort, Dentons, will be held. Participants include Gerald Keenan, Chair, Illinois Pollution Control Board; David St. Pierre, Executive Director, MWRD; Nancy Tuchman, Loyola University of Chicago, Founder and Director, Institute of Environmental Sustainability; Jeff Walk, The Nature Conservancy, Illinois Conservation Director; and  Michael Walsh, MJ Walsh & Associates. The Environmental Markets Association (EMA) is a U.S.-based trade association representing the interests of companies that are involved in the trading, legislation and regulation of environmental markets. EMA was founded in 1997 as a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit organization. EMA represents a diverse membership including large utilities, emissions brokers and traders, exchanges, law firms, project developers, consultants, academics, NGOs and government agencies. The cost to participate in the day-long event is EMA Member: $149 and Non-Members: $339.
http://www.emahq.org/sites/default/files/EMA%20Chicago%20Round%20Table%20Flyer.pdf

Value of Water Kicks Off Infrastructure Week with New Poll Results and Events Across the Country

New Poll Shows More Americans Want Federal Action on Infrastructure Than Any Other Issue

Washington, DC - May 15, 2017 - Today the Value of Water Campaign kicked off the fifth annual Infrastructure Week (May 15-19) by releasing results to a new poll and leading events that highlight the importance of water infrastructure.

A new poll commissioned by the Value of Water Campaign found that more than any other issue, Americans want Congress and the Trump Administration to prioritize infrastructure. A resounding 67 percent said rebuilding America's infrastructure should be an extremely or very important focus - substantially more support than every other issue tested. The poll also found that 82 percent of Americans said rebuilding water systems, specifically, was extremely or very important.

Radhika Fox, Executive Director of the Value of Water Campaign and the CEO of the US Water Alliance, said: "We are proud to be on the steering committee for Infrastructure Week again, and encouraged by the increased public awareness that investing in all types of infrastructure absolutely must be a priority for our policymakers. And thanks to our campaign supporters, there are events happening in communities across the country this week to pull back the curtain on often out-of-sight drinking water and wastewater systems so the public can better appreciate why those pipes, plants, and pumps are worthy of investment."

Today in Washington, D.C., DC Water CEO and General Manager George Hawkins, spoke at the Infrastructure Week Kickoff event at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, along with U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, CEOs and labor leaders.

To celebrate Infrastructure Week, Value of Water Campaign supporters will host more events, including:

• Resilient Water Management: Strengthening Communities and Growing Economies, hosted by the Value of Water Campaign, the National League of Cities, and World Resources Institute (Washington, DC)
• Groundbreaking Event, hosted by American Water (Indiana, PA)
• Great Water Cities Summit 2017: Invest4Resilience, hosted by Water Environment Federation (New York, NY)
• Sewer University: Green Infrastructure Edition and Tech Tour, hosted by Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (Cleveland, OH)
• Recovering Resources, Transforming Water, hosted by Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (Chicago, IL)

Infrastructure Week is guided by a diverse set of infrastructure stakeholders that form its Steering Committee: the AFL-CIO, American Society of Civil Engineers, Brookings: Metropolitan Policy Program, Building America's Future, Business Roundtable, National Association of Manufacturers, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Value of Water Campaign. The theme of Infrastructure Week 2017 is #TimeToBuild, sending a message to Capitol Hill and the Trump administration that now is the time to act and pass a meaningful, long-term, federal infrastructure package.

“Will Drilling 900 Holes In Mount Greenwood Park Solve Its Drainage Problem?,” DNA Info

Parjana Installation at Mount Greenwood Park

Full article text: Steven Legal and his crew are drilling 900 holes in Mount Greenwood Park this week. The goal is to improve drainage at the soggy park at 3721 W. 111th St. with a new technology from Detroit-based Parjana Distribution. The company is using the park as for a pilot program as it expands into Illinois. Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th) said the $80,000 project is a joint venture between the Chicago Park District and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. And it comes after years of complaints over standing water and wet ball fields. Indeed, Beverly Park, Kennedy Park, Ridge Park and others in the 19th Ward will all see rainouts this baseball and softball season, but the standing water typically receeds after a day or so, O'Shea said. "Mount Greenwood Park might not play for three days. It does not drain as well as those other parks," he said, blaming the clay soil for the slow absorption of rainwater. Parjana Distribution's system aims to solve such issues without tapping into the city's sewer system. The company drills two-inch holes 5-, 10-, 20- and 40-feet into the ground. Long plastic sleeves known as Energy-passive Groundwater Recharge Products are fed into the holes.

Detroit-based Parjana Distribution is drilling 900 holes throughout Mount Greenwood Park. The plastic lines pictured here will be fed into the holes to improve rainwater absorption.

The devices are designed to act like a drinking straw — collecting water that would otherwise sit on the topsoil and sending it down into dry soil below, Legal said Tuesday. "It's an amazing product for golf courses," said Legal, adding that the company named for the Hindu rain God has worked on courses throughout Michigan as well as public parks, airports and even residential backyards there. Roughly 8,000 feet of the plastic sleeves will be installed at Mount Greenwood Park. It takes anywhere from six weeks to a year for the ground to acclimate to the devices — which largely depends on the amount of precipitation, Legal said. He said residents will likely know the product is working this winter after a heavy snow. Once it begins to melt, it's not uncommon to see small divots where the drains are located underground. Allison Fore, an intergovernmental affairs officer at the water reclamation district, said a successful test in Mount Greenwood could lead to similar installations throughout Cook County. She was particularly enthused by the technology's ability to divert rainwater from the overtaxed sewer system. "The intensity of our new normal storm event needs technology solutions that keep the load off the system and infiltrating into the ground," Fore said. "We hope this technology or something like it is part of the overall solution to Chicago’s flooding problems."
https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170510/mt-greenwood/mount-greenwood-park-flooding-drainage-drilling-holes-parjana-distribution

“Excitement Brews As MWRD Begins Accepting High Strength Organic Materials,” Water Online

Full article text: As tanker trucks rolled into the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant (WRP) recently, there was one truck in particular that the Monitoring and Research Department at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) was anticipating. It wasn't exactly a beer truck but a tanker hauling liquid waste from a local brewery. Considered a high strength organic material (HSOM), the spent yeast in the truck will promote the MWRD's resource recovery model as a tool for the MWRD to improve and stabilize the enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) process during water treatment. It's that process that will lead to increased phosphorus recovery and cleaner waterways and allow local businesses a chance to partner with the MWRD to keep their waste hauls local and serve an integral role in protecting the environment. "We are happy to announce that we are now in business and accepting trucked wastes at our Stickney and Calumet water reclamation plants," said MWRD President Mariyana Spyropoulos. "This is a major victory in protecting our water environment and for local businesses looking to do their part in lowering their carbon footprint. We credit our staff who toiled away at this project for two years, testing materials and finding potential candidates to contribute this critical ingredient that will help us recover more phosphorus from the water treatment process." What makes the liquid waste from breweries and sugary and starch liquid wastes special for the EBPR process is the readily biodegradable carbon that serves as food for the phosphorus accumulating organisms that work under anaerobic and aerobic conditions in the secondary treatment. These organisms work to remove organic material from wastewater and to recover more phosphorus than normal microorganisms. MWRD officials believe this will lead to significant increases in the amounts of fertilizer produced at the new Stickney WRP nutrient recovery facility that can be marketed to agricultural producers and bring a return on investment. Equally as important, this recovery will lead to less phosphorus in waterways downstream that could contribute to algae blooms and hypoxic conditions as far away as the Gulf of Mexico. After learning about the MWRD's plans, local breweries like Goose Island Beer Company and Revolution Brewing were excited to participate. They partnered with 1212 Environmental, which specializes in fully managed waste reduction and recycling programs, to have the liquid waste delivered to the MWRD. Goose Island Assistant Brewery Manager Ian Hughes said, "Goose Island got involved with the MWRD's Bio-P program to enhance their innovative resource recovery program and to support their vital goal of protecting regional water quality. We have a vested interest in clean water because it is one of the most important ingredients we use for making beer - it is the blank canvas upon which our brewers paint their masterpiece with malt, hops and yeast!" "That being said, we were excited to create an innovative byproduct synergy with our wastewater regulator by diverting our spent yeast from the drain and sending it directly to the MWRD for use in their enhanced biological phosphorus removal and recovery program. It is a win-win partnership as we decrease the strength of our brewery wastewater, find a new life for our 'waste' byproduct, and in the process we support the MWRD's exciting resource recovery efforts." The MWRD is accepting non-hazardous HSOM containing elevated concentrations of chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations of 75,000 mg/L or above. Examples of acceptable HSOM are food processing, brewery, restaurant and sugary/starchy wastes which are homogenous liquids, or slurries high in organic content that are typically too concentrated to be disposed of by discharge to the sewer system. Spent yeast, grains and hops are examples of wastes that breweries can deliver to the MWRD. Such trucked materials would not be subject to provisions of the MWRD's User Charge Ordinance. A sample from each delivery is tested by MWRD environmental specialists. The tanker trucks make a $250 payment for deliveries of 5,000 gallons and $50 or $25 for a 1,000- or 500-gallon delivery, respectively. "These first trucks that came rolling in today are the first of many, and we thank Goose Island and Revolution Brewing for their participation and commitment to the local environment," said MWRD Commissioner David J. Walsh. "This is an exciting opportunity for the enhanced biological phosphorus removal process. We are not only protecting our water environment but becoming pioneers in an emerging field of water treatment and resource recovery and providing a return to taxpayers and the environment."

About The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
Established in 1889, the MWRD is an award-winning, special purpose government agency responsible for wastewater treatment and stormwater management in Cook County, Illinois. For more information, visit www.mwrd.org.
https://www.wateronline.com/doc/excitement-brews-as-mwrd-begins-accepting-high-strength-organic-materials-0001

“Summary of WEF’s Utility of the Future honorees 2016,” Water Environment Federation
Summary: The partners of the Utility of the Future Today presented the inaugural program’s 61 public and private utilities from across the U.S., Canada, and Denmark selected by a peer committee of utility leaders from an impressive number of first year entries. The recipients were recognized and honored during a September 27 ceremony held in conjunction with WEFTEC 2016 in New Orleans—WEF’s 89th annual technical exhibition and conference—as well as a number of commensurate events sponsored by the partners. The recipients received a display flag and a special certificate to further identify and promote their outstanding achievement as a Utility of the Future Today. The MWRD’s application can be found on pages 308-319. Utility of the Future Today recognition is granted for a three-year period after which time program members must renew their recognition.
http://www.wef.org/globalassets/assets-wef/3---resources/for-the-public/utility-of-the-future/2016-summary-uotf-today-honorees-final.pdf

“It's Action Time,” Friends of the Chicago River

Hundreds gather on the Chicago Riverwalk's River Theater to demonstrate they care about the health of the Chicago River. Smiling in the giant photo include MWRD President Mariyana Spyropoulos, Vice President Barbara J. McGowan, Commissioners Kari K. Steele and Debra Shore, Bill Kurtis, and countless partners.

Friends' recent Overflow Action Month was further supported by Wednesday's editorial, "It's Action Time", in the Chicago Sun-Times. Last weekend's heavy rains caused sewage to go into Lake Michigan as a way to prevent flooding into our rivers. It wasn't enough. We continue to ask citizens to take Overflow Action with us.
http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?m=1114286728370&ca=69284fd2-5f99-4196-9774-356287ee3a4e

“Sun-Times Editorial Board: It’s action time — if you care about your drinking water”

Heavy Chicago area rains often overwhelm the drainage system.

Full article text: Last weekend was overflow time in Chicago. So much rain fell that millions of gallons of untreated water, including raw sewage, were shunted straight into Lake Michigan to keep rivers and canals from flooding. Not a pleasant thought. We get the water we drink from that lake. When so much rain falls that homes and businesses are at risk of flooding, officials release water into the lake that normally would go to a sewage treatment facility. The water contains sewage — including the stuff flushed down toilets — because in Chicago and older suburbs the same pipes carry stormwater and sewage. Later this year, the first phase of a new reservoir in McCook will open, which will ease flooding during big storms. By itself, though, that won’t be enough to keep sewage out of the lake. That’s where the average citizen comes in. Last month, local environmentalist and civic groups launched a more grassroots campaign, “overflow action days,” in which people are asked to keep as much water as possible out of the system during heavy downpours. On an overflow action day, you’re asked to take shorter showers and delay running the dishwasher or doing laundry. Anything that reduces how much water goes down your drain cuts down on the water flowing into somebody else’s basement and the raw sewage flowing into the lake. You also can help when it’s sunny out by installing rain barrels on your downspouts, adding rain gardens to your lawn and putting water-saving devices in your home. All of these measures will reduce the amount of water flowing into waterways during heavy storms. The program is backed by everyone from the Shedd Aquarium to the League of Women Voters. To sign up for overflow action day email alerts, go to www.chicagoriver.org. Beach season is almost here. We’ll all enjoy it more if the water is as clean as we can make it.
http://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/its-action-time-if-you-care-about-your-drinking-water/amp/

“Berwyn installs green infrastructure in alleys to help alleviate flooding,” My Suburban Life
Summary: Construction is underway on three alleys in Berwyn, as the city works to install green infrastructure to help avoid flooding due to excess stormwater. In total, 10 of the city’s alleys will be improved through the Green Alley Initiative project, which should be completed by the end of this summer. The existing alleys do not allow for effective stormwater runoff, so the water often accumulates in sewers, homes or garages. The project will replace a portion of the concrete with permeable pavers over gravel, allowing water to infiltrate into the ground through the pavers, instead of staying on the alleyways. The alleys that are currently under construction are in the 1900 block between Harvey and Lombard avenues, meaning the alley runs between Harvey and Lombard avenues, starting at 19th Street and running south; the 1300 block between Oak Park and Euclid avenues, meaning the alley runs between Oak Park and Euclid avenues, starting at 13th Street and running south; and the 1400 block between Highland and Harvey avenues, meaning the alley runs between Highland and Harvey avenues, starting at 14th Street and running south. Assistant City Administrator Ruth Volbre said the 10 alleys will be capable of detaining 254,000 gallons of stormwater at once, which greatly reduces the risk of flooding. “That’s a lot of water that’s being infiltrated through the ground and not into homes or sewers,” she said. “When you don’t have water going into sewers, you don’t have the backup going into basements. This project will definitely benefit Berwyn residents. The project engineers are utilizing natural-based solutions because they’re more cost-effective in the long run and have social and economic benefits.” After the 100-year storms that happened in 2010, 2011 and 2013, many homes flooded and the city began working on solutions to tackle the problem, Volbre said. A 100-year storm refers to a rainfall event that has a 1-percent chance of occurring in any given year. The city looked at all 660 alleys in Berwyn and identified the 10 alleys that had the biggest flooding problems. Grants from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, along with city funds, will cover the costs for the first part of the project, which is $2.18 million.
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/2017/04/21/berwyn-installs-green-infrastructure-in-alleys-to-help-alleviate-flooding/am3c84t/

"Threats to Great Lakes Topic of Summit at UIC’s Freshwater Lab," WTTW
Summary: With nearly $300 million in federal funding on the chopping block, a diverse group of leaders from across the Great Lakes region will convene next month in Chicago to address lead poisoning, oil pipelines and other threats to the area’s waters. The Freshwater Lab, a think tank on water issues based at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is hosting a summit titled “Untrouble the Waters” on May 10-11. The event will bring together government officials, researchers and community leaders who represent communities that are dependent on the Great Lakes. “Something I know as a native Detroiter and someone who has been in Chicago for 14 years, it does not matter people’s political affiliation or their race or background, people love this water,” said Rachel Havrelock, who founded the Freshwater Lab in 2014 to study the social contexts of freshwater. “And I know that we will stand together and protect it.” Recent developments have raised concerns about efforts to protect the Great Lakes, which contain about 21 percent of the world’s surface freshwater. Rachel Havrelock founded The Freshwater Lab in 2014. Havrelock is an associate professor of Jewish Studies and English at UIC. (University of Illinois at Chicago). At next month’s summit, guests will hear from speakers representing groups such as the NAACP, the social justice-focused Council of Canadians and a council representing the Lake Superior Chippewa Tribe. Other notable attendees confirmed for the summit are Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, We the People of Detroit co-founder Monica Lewis-Patrick and US Water Alliance program manager Zoë Roller. On the summit’s second day, participants will divide into breakout groups to address topics such as environmental justice, lead pipes, oil pipelines and sustainable water management. Havrelock said each group will produce a plan outlining future actions. The environmental justice group, for example, will work on establishing a media bureau to help communities share their stories. “The threats being posed to our region are acute enough that we just cannot trust traditional political processes,” Havrelock said. “We really need a groundswell of grassroots engagement.” This is the second summit hosted by UIC’s Freshwater Lab, Flood said. Its first summit was held in 2015 to address management of transboundary water systems, with an emphasis on the Great Lakes. MWRD President Mariyana Spyropoulos, Vice President Barbara McGowan and Commissioners Josina Morita, Debra Shore, and Kari Steele will be honored at the event's reception on May 10.
http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/04/27/threats-great-lakes-topic-summit-uic-s-freshwater-lab

“Using Cheese, Molasses Brine To Treat Roads With Less Salt,” Pew Trusts
Summary: In the last 40 years, Midwestern and Northern states have dramatically increased their use of salt as a de-icer. The sodium chloride has seeped into the nation’s lakes and waterways and wells, where it is increasingly threatening drinking water, aquatic life, fisheries, irrigation and recreation, according to a new study that is the first to detail the extent of the problem on a national scale. As the environmental effects become clearer, many state and local agencies in states such as Illinois, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Wisconsin are trying to use less road salt and to convince the public to do the same. They are using technology to monitor weather conditions to decide when to use salt, and when not to. They are ratcheting up their use of liquid salt brine, which allows them to use less road salt and makes it stick better. And they are training their employees and the public to use as little salt as required to do the job.  In Chicago, a work group is studying how to use less road salt to get chloride levels in local waterways down. In 2015, the Illinois Pollution Control Board set a new water quality standard — less than 500 mg per liter of chloride in the area’s waterway system and Lower Des Plaines River — which goes into effect in 2018. But the new rule could cause problems for local or regional wastewater reclamation plants, which would be required to ensure the water they release into local waterways has chloride levels under the threshold. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, which reclaims an average of 1.4 billion gallons of used water daily, set up the work group to make recommendations.
http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2017/05/01/using-cheese-molasses-brine-to-treat-roads-with-less-salt/a>

“Does the Chicago River Stink? Water Agency Makes App for You to Report It,” DNA Info
Full article text: Does the Chicago River smell? The agency in charge of the region's sewage launched an app that will help the public report foul odors, pollution and blockages on waterways such as the Chicago River. The Citizen Incident Reporting app features a questionnaire not only asking people where and when they smell an odor, but everything from the wind, temperature and strength of the smell. "By alerting us of these incidents, we can better prevent waterway pollution, disruption and flooding and quickly react to the source of odor nuisances," water reclamation district President Mariyana Spyropoulos said. The agency will investigate the odor reports and plan work based on the tips. Anything urgent would need to be directed to local municipalities.
https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170427/albany-park/does-chicago-river-stink-water-agency-makes-app-for-you-report-it

“MWRD urges Chicagoans to bring old meds to boxes,” The Beverly Review
Full text article: As part of the bi-annual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) encourage the public to bring their drugs to special MWRD collection boxes located at Calumet Water Reclamation Plant, 400 E. 130th St.; Stickney Water Reclamation Plant, 6001 W. Pershing Road, in Cicero; and O’Brien Water Reclamation Plant, 3500 Howard St., in Skokie, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 29. In conjunction with the DEA Chicago Field Division, the MWRD is accepting unused or expired medication for safe disposal. The event aims to provide a safe, convenient and responsible means for disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications and harm to the environment. To prevent or reduce accidental contamination of streams, rivers and lakes, the MWRD has participated in the U.S. DEA’s initiative each year since the event was launched in 2010. Water treatment facilities are not designed to remove minute concentrations of pharmaceuticals, and the chemicals could eventually wind up in area streams and waterways and have a negative impact on water quality. Numerous studies show significant negative effects that pharmaceutical drugs have on aquatic life pulled from area waterways. MWRD collection boxes are also available year round seven days per week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the three plants and Monday through Friday and at MWRD’s main office building, 100 E. Erie St. A partnership with the Cook County Sheriff’s office has supported collection boxes throughout the county. For more information, visit www.mwrd.org.
 http://www.beverlyreview.net/news/community_news/article_2eba6124-29d4-11e7-855e-0f81a8d1736a.html

“You Can Be Part of Giant Group Photo on the Chicago Riverwalk Wednesday,” DNA Info

A pike caught in Chicago River.

Summary: You can be part of a giant group photo along the Chicago Riverwalk Wednesday afternoon as part of an awareness campaign. To build awareness for April as Overflow Action Month, Friends of the Chicago River is planning the "Keep the River Clean Photobomb" on the Chicago Riverwalk at the River Theater between Clark and LaSalle on Wednesday at 12:15 p.m. The group’s goal is to attract hundreds of people to be photographed on the large stairs there demonstrating they want the river to be healthy and clean.
https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170425/downtown/keep-the-chicago-river-clean-photobomb-when-where

“From Waste to Life: Researchers Found New Way of Turning Wastewater Into Clean Organic Fertilizer,” The Science Times

Researchers have now developed a more feasible way of extracting nutrients from waste water. 99% effective!

Full article text: Wastewater, sewage sludge, and liquid manure are valuable sources of fertilizer for food production. Aalto University researchers have developed a new, feasible method for capturing nitrogen and phosphorus from different liquid waste fractions. The new method makes it possible to separate 99 percent of the nitrogen and up to 99 percent of phosphorus in wastewater. These nutrients are used to make granular ammonium sulphate (NH4)2SO4 and phosphorus precipitate suitable for fertilizers. According to Riku Vahala, a researcher, and professor at Aalto University, there are tons of ways to remove nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater, but none of it meets the need of getting the nutrients. Extracting nutrients from communities' wastewater will make it possible to supplement about one-tenth of phosphorus and 6 percent of the industrially produced ammoniac nitrogen that is used for fertilizers. According to Plant and Soil Sciences, phosphorus helps the plant convert other nutrients into usable building blocks with which to grow. Phosphorus is one of the main nutrients most commonly found in fertilizers. Creating a cost-effective way to recycle the nutrients in wastewater is the goal of the project. According to Aalto University, they will begin the construction of a pilot equipment at the Laboratory of Water and Environmental Technology in spring 2017. Industry giants are constantly trying to make use of the components of wastewater. One of the biggest wastewater treatment plant, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, is moving towards a "zero waste" model and recovering more nutrients from wastewater, as reported by Next City. Nutrients can be a valuable asset to farmers. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a board member for the company operating the Chicago plant said, "We're going to run out of phosphorus probably in 30 to 50 years. So here's a way that we can produce it locally, at the sewage treatment plant."
http://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/13079/20170424/from-waste-to-life-researchers-found-a-new-way-of-turning-wastewater-into-clean-organic-fertilizer.htm

“MWRD Awards Demonstrate Excellent Financial Reporting System,” WaterOnline

(L to R): MWRD Comptroller Matt Glavas presents the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award to MWRD Commissioner Kari K. Steele, chair of the MWRD Budget and Employment Committee, and Administrative Services Officer Eileen McElligott.

Summary: For yet another year, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) has proven its commitment to accurate and transparent accounting practices. The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) applauded the MWRD commissioners and staff with numerous awards for budgeting and financial reporting for the MWRD and its retirement portfolio. The GFOA awarded the MWRD with the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the 2016 Budget and Certificates of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to the MWRD, the MWRD Retirement Fund and to the MWRD Retiree Health Care Trust for the Fiscal Year 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR). The MWRD has received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for 32 consecutive years. The budget presentation award is the highest form of recognition in government budgeting and demonstrates the effectiveness of the budget as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communications device, GFOA officials said. The GFOA states to receive an award the budget documents must be rated proficient in all four categories and 14 mandatory criteria within those categories. The MWRD also received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for an astonishing 41 consecutive years, which puts the MWRD in the top two percent of governments receiving a consecutive award. The MWRD Retirement Fund and the MWRD Retiree Health Care Trust also received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for 23 and 9 consecutive years, respectively. These certificates are the highest form of recognition in the area of accounting and financial reporting by state and local government, the GFOA states. The certificates provide assurance to the MWRD Board of Commissioners and management, investors, regulators, rating agencies, the general citizenry and others that the MWRD's financial condition and results of operations are fairly presented.
https://www.wateronline.com/doc/mwrd-awards-demonstrate-excellent-financial-reporting-system-0001

“Legislative Visit Offers MWRD Opportunity to Promote Initiatives Statewide,” Water Online
Summary: Improving the quality of area waterways was a central theme of discussion as leaders of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) made their annual trek to the Illinois State Capitol to deliver their input directly to the members of the Illinois General Assembly. The MWRD Board of Commissioners and Executive Director David St. Pierre met with Illinois House and Senate leaders to discuss MWRD initiatives and legislation developed to promote a nutrient trading strategy that will help reduce nutrient loss to Illinois waters and eventually the Gulf of Mexico, where a hypoxic zone threatens aquatic life.
https://www.wateronline.com/doc/legislative-visit-offers-mwrd-opportunity-promote-initiatives-statewide-0001

“Garden on the Cheap: Where to Get Free Trees and Mulch,” DNA Info
Going green doesn't have to cost a ton of greenbacks — or anything at all. Mulch, which helps prevent weeds and retains water in planting beds, is available for free year-round at these sites:

• 4101 North Oak Park Avenue (Chicago Read Center)
• Grand and Rockwell (South of Grand Avenue, behind of the salt pile, along the south fence)
• 52nd  and Oakley (near the Salt Dome)
• 2342 South Ashland Avenue (North West corner of property)
• 900 East 103^rd Street (North East corner of property)

A couple of caveats:

• The sites are only open 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
• You'll need to bring your own shovel and containers to haul the mulch.

With the city's trees decimated by the Emerald Ash Borer, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District launched “Restore the Canopy, Plant a Tree” to replace Chicago's depleted tree population. Trees, according to the MWRD, can help prevent flooding by absorbing 2,800 gallons of rainfall per year, and also reduce pollution and the effect of urban heat islands. MWRD is offering free 18-inch oak saplings, either individually or in bulk, every Wednesday, 9 a.m. to noon, at water reclamation plants across Cook County, including the Calumet plant at 400 E. 130th St., beginning May 5. Residents of the 40th Ward can pick up a free MWRD tree closer to home Saturday as part of the city's Clean and Green Day of Service. Planting and care instructions will be provided. Swing by the ward yard at 5333 N. Western Ave., 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. to claim an oak sapling — limit two per household. Note, the trees can't be planted in the parkway, only on private property. Learn how to maximize a small gardening budget at "How to Create a Great Backyard (For Not A Lotta Dough)," 6-7 p.m. Wednesday at Sulzer Regional Library, 4455 N. Lincoln Ave. Amanda Thompson, author of "Kiss My Aster," will provide advice and inspiration during the one-hour session.
https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170419/lincoln-square/garden-on-cheap-where-get-free-trees-mulch

MWRD saplings are available for free each Wednesday at six water reclamation plants and various Earth Day and Arbor Day events in April. A medium-sized oak tree can help prevent flooding by absorbing 2,800 gallons of rainfall per year.

The quercus bicolor, commonly known as the swamp white oak, seen here at the Ladd Arboretum in Evanston, is one of the five tree species the MWRD is giving out to the public. The swamp white oak grows about 18 inches per year to about 50 to 60 feet at maturity.

“These Two Projects are Helping Chicago Ride the Wave of Water Innovation,” Streetwise
Summary: Living on the shores of the world’s largest reserves of freshwater, many Chicagoans tend to take Lake Michigan and access to freshwater, for granted. But one does not have to venture out too much further west to see communities increasingly dependent on groundwater rather than freshwater, as this research from the Illinois state water survey shows. Groundwater is the water that seeps into the earth and is stored in aquifers – areas of soil, sand, and rock that are capable of holding liquid. In addition to drinking water, this groundwater is also extracted for irrigation purposes – but aging infrastructure, population demands, changing weather patterns and industrial pollution are all causing a threat to this important resource. According to the city's economic development agency World Business Chicago (WBC), Chicago’s robust water economy is the 4th largest in the nation and has produced an average 83 patents per year for water innovations. Regional water companies currently employ more than 99,589 people. How then, can the city leverage, maintain and raise the profile of this important sector of the economy? These two projects might point to the answer: collaboration. Founded by the city, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD), and WBC, Current hopes to increase research, investment and employment in the Chicagoland water industry. http://chicagoinno.streetwise.co/2017/04/10/these-two-projects-are-helping-chicago-ride-the-wave-of-water-innovation/

“Niles Celebrates Completion Of $9.1 Million Sewer Project,” Journal and Topics

Although Niles’ $9.1 million the Cleveland Sewer Project was completed in late October, village officials waited until Thursday for warmer weather to mark its completion with a ceremonial throwing out of the mops. Village officials said, as the project was all underground, throwing away mops was used to symbolize the lack of future flooded basements from flooding. Taking part in the ceremonial mop ceremony were Mayor Andrew Przybylo (center), Mariyana Spyropoulos, president of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Niles village trustees and officials and officials from engineering consultants Hey and Associates and Boulder Construction.

Summary: Niles officials marked the completion of the $9.1 million Cleveland Sewer Project with a ceremonial throwing away of mops. The symbolism was used as the idea is they are no longer needed to clean flooded basements. A closing ceremony was held Thursday at the Grennan Heights Park fieldhouse. The village was able to facilitate fast track construction of the project in just over six months, said Mayor Andrew Przybylo. An updated phase-two plan is expected sometime this summer, according to Village Manager Steve Vinezeano. The Cleveland project is the largest in the village’s $32 million stormwater relief program completed to date, and marks the end of phase one of the village’s multi-year stormwater relief program substantially reducing flooding risk to more than 140 homes. The project installed 12,500 feet of new sanitary and storm sewer piping with about a quarter of that piping (3,200 feet) measuring 6 feet in diameter. The project also separated storm and sanitary sewer systems to reduce pollution and basement back ups. The project cost $9.1 million with $2 million coming from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago along with low-interest financing through the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. “Say goodbye to flooding in Niles,” MWRD President Mariyana Spyropoulos said at the event. She said a recent change in state law allowing her agency to work, not only on regional but local projects, has added effectiveness to the agency.

Workers from Boulder Construction lay huge pipes deep underground as part of the $9.1 million Cleveland Sewer project last year.

http://www.journal-topics.com/news/article_fd82eb44-1a1f-11e7-84b3-1f3a06421a24.html

“World’s Largest Nutrient Recovery Facility Produces Valuable, Environmentally Friendly Fertilizer,” Black and Veatch

Summary: The largest ocean hypoxic area, or dead zone, currently affecting the United States occurs in the northern Gulf of Mexico, adjacent to the mouth of the Mississippi River. The dead zone, roughly the size of Connecticut, forms along the Louisiana and Texas coastlines each summer. It’s caused by agricultural runoff that is loaded with nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as a number of other sources, such as urban wastewater treatment facilities. Phosphorus washes into the Mississippi River and eventually into the Gulf. Excess phosphorus in waterways can cause algae to grow and bloom, eating up oxygen and creating toxic conditions that threaten aquatic life in lakes, rivers and even the ocean. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago has taken a lead in dealing with this problem by transitioning its Stickney Water Reclamation Plant (WRP), the largest wastewater treatment facility of its kind in the world, into a water resource recovery facility. Black & Veatch designed and built the world’s largest nutrient recovery facility at the Stickney WRP. The plant is providing an environmentally progressive solution to support the larger goal of reducing Gulf hypoxia.
https://www.bv.com/Phosphorus-Recovery-System-at-Stickney-Water-Reclamation-Plant

“Water Conservation Urged to Keep Chicago River from Overflowing,” North Loop News

View from the east tower of Marina City of a flooded Riverwalk west of State Street on June 15, 2015. Photo by Jeff Lewis.

Summary: A shorter shower, wearing clothes two days in a row, and flushing less often are just three of 30 ways to help keep the Chicago River from overflowing on especially rainy days. The suggestions were offered on Friday by Friends of the Chicago River. A month-long campaign will encourage Chicagoans to conserve clean water and reduce pollution going into the river. When it rains, water from storm drains combines with domestic, commercial, and industrial sewage and is piped to a pumping station where the water is treated and returned to the river. If there is too much water, most of it goes into a reservoir before going to the pumping station but some of it goes back into the river untreated. Just one-third of an inch of rain can cause sewer overflow into the river, according to Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.

Friends of the Chicago River got to Chicago and on board a water taxi two members of the Illinois congressional delegation to help publicize its month-long public awareness campaign. At front, left to right, are Michael Borgstrom, president of Wendella Sightseeing Company; United States Senator Dick Durbin; Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River; Mariyana Spyropoulos, president of Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago; and U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky. Image obtained from Friends of the Chicago River.

More info: Overflow Action Days
http://www.loopnorth.com/news/mobi/river0401.htm
https://www.wateronline.com/doc/overflow-action-month-offers-daily-water-chicago-river-0001
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/03/31/april-is-overflow-action-month-consumers-urged-to-conserve-water/

“Shabbir Ali bags Chicago’s water conservation award,” The Hans India
Summary: Opposition leader in the Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir received the prestigious Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) award for his stellar contribution in water conservation and water reclamation efforts in the city of Hyderabad during 2004-2014. The former Minister is the first Indian to receive this prestigious citation and proclamation from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. The former Minister and Congress leader Shabbir is the first Indian to receive this prestigious citation and proclamation from the MWRD. In his acceptance speech at a glittering event held in Chicago town by the MWRD Board on Thursday, Shabbir Ali said the honour was another feather in the cap of Telangana and explained about Hyderabad city’s water augmentation programme taken up by the GHMC and HMDA during the Congress regime by keeping the demand for the next 25 years in view.
http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Telangana/2017-04-07/Shabbir-Ali-bags-Chicagos--water-conservation-award/291849

“Shabbir receives MWRD Proclamation at Greater Chicago,”The Siasat Daily
Full article text: Mohammed Ali Shabbir, Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council has received the prestigious MWRD award of the greater city of Chicago , USA for his stellar contribution to water conservation and water reclamation efforts in Hyderabad during 2004-2014. The former minister Shabbir Ali is the first Indian to receive the prestigious citation and proclamation for the MWRD. Shabbir accepted the award at a glittering event held in Chicago town by the MWRD  board on April 6.  Shabbir said the honour was a kudos and another  feather in the cap of Telangana and explained about the Hyderabad city water augmentation program taken up by the GHMC and HMDA during Congress regime by keeping the demand for next 25 years. Earlier, MWRD Chairman Frank Aliva presented the MWRD Proclamation to Shabbir Ali. (NSS)
http://www.siasat.com/news/shabbir-receives-mwrd-proclamation-greater-chicago-1169637/

“A Successful African American Women’s “SisSTEMS” Symposium, Chicago Citizen
Summary: The African American Women’s Business and Career Group recently presented their STEM initiative, entitled “SisSTEMS.” The event, which was hosted by The John Marshall Law School, did not disappoint attendees.” It was the most professional informative and enjoyable event I have ever attended.  The workshop panels also included a passionate address from MWRD Diversity representative Regina D. Berry, which actually brought several audience members to tears. She was honest and the audience appreciated her bravery when sharing her personal and professional struggles. MWRD career opportunities were presented by Beverly Sanders, with wrap up comments from MWRD Commissioner Kari K. Steele. Also on hand were The EPA, Metra, and The State of Illinois Economic Development team. 
http://thechicagocitizen.com/news/2017/apr/05/successful-african-american-womens-sisstems-sympos/

“New Technologies Shrink Wastewater’s Carbon Footprint,” Climate Central
Summary: Wastewater treatment plants are energy hogs. A 2013 study by the Electric Power Research Institute and Water Research Foundation reported that they consumed about 30 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, or about 0.8 percent of the total electricity used in the United States. Wastewater treatment’s high energy footprint is ironic because the organic matter in wastewater contains up to five times as much energy as the treatment plants use, according to the American Biogas Council. Reducing treatment plants’ energy footprints through energy efficiency and using the currently wasted energy could save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Despite all that energy seemingly there for the taking, reducing the fossil fuel demand of treatment plants is challenging and requires myriad approaches. Around the world, the industry is experimenting with new technologies, evaluating them for not just energy benefits but also cost and unintended consequences, such as additional waste streams to be managed. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago — MWRD — has set a target to be energy neutral by 2023, following the lead of plants in the United Kingdom, Denmark and the East Bay Municipal Utility District in Oakland, Calif., which has moved beyond net-zero energy to actually selling energy back to the grid. These innovators are using a variety of technologies to reduce the electricity they use through energy efficiency and to generate electricity onsite to offset what they do use.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/technologies-shrink-wastewaters-carbon-footprint-21305

“Niles, water district officials celebrate completion of Cleveland St. sewer project,” Bugle Newspapers

In the photo: Village of Niles, village staff, MWRD officials, Niles Stormwater Commission dump mops into the bucket to mark the completion of Cleveland Relief Sewer project. (photo by Igor Studenkov | for The Bugle)

The long-awaited Cleveland relief sewer project, which is expected to reduce flooding in eastern Niles, has been completed five months ahead of schedule. To mark the occasion, officials from the Village of Niles and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD), as well as members of the Niles Stormwater Commission, gathered at the Grennan Heights Park fieldhouse on March 29. They thanked the village staff and the contractors for their hard work, and touted the project as a great example of inter-agency cooperation. And because there was no way to cut a ribbon on something that was located underground, the officials marked the occasion with a ceremonial throwing away of the mops.

Mayor Andrew Przybylo (center) addresses the crowd during the ceremony marking the completion of the Cleveland relief sewer project. (photo by Igor Studenkov | for The Bugle)

The project was the last of the Tier 1 stormwater mitigation projects, designed to address the most pressing flood issues within Niles. It will collect water from Grennan Heights and other areas on the east side of the village and deposit the water into the Chicago River. The main sewage pipe has been placed near the intersection of Main Street and Oketo Avenue and continues along Monroe Avenue until it reaches Cleveland Street. It then continues along Cleveland Street until it reaches the Cook County Forest Preserve, where it goes into the river. The project also added new pipes along Odell, Octavia, Oconto and Harlem avenues, as well as Waukegan Road and Kenney Street, to feed into the main pipe. According to the Village of Niles fact sheet, the project cost $9.1 million, with $2 million coming from MWRD. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s Revolving Loan Fund helped cover the rest. Mariyanna Spyropoulos, president of MWRD, said she was happy to see the project completed. “While we are working very hard to solve [the issue], it’s encouraging to see a village come up with an effective of a plan as the Village of Niles,” she said.
http://buglenewspapers.com/niles-water-district-officials-celebrate-completion-of-cleveland-st-sewer-project

“Campaign Will Ask Chicagoans to Cut Water Use On ‘Overflow Action’ Days,” WBBM, CBS Local

CBS) – You’ve heard of “ozone action” days. Well, get ready for “overflow action” days.
CBS 2’s Roseanne Tellez explains why you soon will be asked to hold off on washing your clothes, showering for too long. All along the picturesque Chicago River, there are something called “outfalls,” or drains used when the sewers fill. Normally, sewage runs through pipes underground and is diverted to wastewater treatment plants. But during heavy rains, when the volume overwhelms the system, the overflow runs right into the river. Soon, it will flow to the McCook Reservoir, which is part of Chicago’s “Deep Tunnel” system. At the end of this year, when this reservoir opens, it will be able to hold 3.5 billion gallons of waste water and storm water that otherwise would end up in Chicago area waterways — and basements. A second section on the other side of that wall will bring the total to 10 billion gallons. “It’s going to be the biggest in the world so we’re very excited when this will come online and help a lot of people in the area,” says Mariyana  Spyropoulos, president of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. Despite that massive project, it’s still not enough to protect our waterways. The group Friends of the Chicago River wants residents to do their part by using less water. A campaign called Overflow Action Days — launching on April 1 — will alert people when sewers are overwhelmed and in jeopardy of flowing over into the river. You will be asked to shorten your shower or hold off on washing clothes and dishes. “Even though we live on the shores of Lake Michigan, there’s a limited amount and we need to take care of it,” says Margaret Frisbie of the Friends organization. Frisbie also suggests saving rain water in barrels to use for watering your plants. Or, collect the water you run while the water is getting hot. It can be used to water plants, or even give to your pets.
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/03/22/campaign-will-ask-chicagoans-to-cution-days/

“Innovation at the Food-Energy-Water Nexus,” Marquette University Law School
Summary: On May 16, MWRD's Pinakin Desai, Managing Engineer – Energy Conservation, will be serving on a #water ethics panel at Marquette University. The interdisciplinary workshop, "Innovation at the Food-Energy-Water Nexus," will offer a unique perspective on the food-energy-water nexus. Discussions will provoke conversations about overcoming barriers to the implementation of innovative water solutions, stimulate ideas for focused academic research, and drive the development of organizational policy and technology roadmaps. The event incorporates sessions on energy use, recovery, and minimization at water and wastewater utilities; on groundwater; on agricultural sustainability and food waste; and on ethical considerations for stakeholders. This event is sponsored by a grant from the National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Water Equipment and Policy.
http://law.marquette.edu/current-students/innovation-food-energy-water-nexus

“Chicago Conservation Corps to Host Water Conservation Workshop on Saturday, March 25,” Park Forest News
Leaders with the Chicago Conservation Corps (“C3”) will host a Water Conservation Workshop this Saturday, March 25th, 1:00 p.m., at Willye White Park Fieldhouse, 1610 W. Howard in Chicago. Learn how you can prevent basement flooding and empower youth to be stewards of our most precious resource – water. You will also learn how our houses, apartments, and condos can better use water. C3 volunteers and representatives from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Rain Ready, Chicago Park District and Citizens Utility Board will share easy ways to make your home more water wise and will discuss ways to teach youth about the importance of water. This is a free workshop and the first ten households to register will receive a free water conservation kit. Register at the website. The environmental learning continues for the final workshop in April:
Saturday, April 22nd, 1:00 p.m., at Willye White Park Fieldhouse, 1610 W. Howard in Chicago: “Cost efficient ways to stay connected” with Elevate Energy, The Recyclery, the Citizens Utility Board, the Chicago Bicycle Ambassadors and the Active Transportation Alliance.
C3 is a partnership between the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and the City of Chicago to provide Chicago residents with the training to make their communities more sustainable. All four workshops are organized by 49th Ward residents and C3 Leaders, Yvonne White-More, Tonia Andreina, Jenny Prokopy and Gaye Durst.
The 49th Ward is home to one of Chicago’s largest concentrations of C3 Leaders and C3 projects. In fact, the Annual Trash to Treasure Swap was originally a C3 project put together by a former 49th Ward resident, Autumn Franger. Learn more about upcoming C3 training.
https://enewspf.com/2017/03/21/chicago-conservation-corps-host-water-conservation-workshop-saturday-march-25/

“KRUCET notification out,” The Hindu
Summary: The Krishna University (KRU) on Tuesday released notification for Krishna University Common Entrance Test (KRUCET) for admission into various post-graduation and diploma courses for the academic year 2017-18. The KRU has introduced two PG diploma courses in aquaculture technology and waste water treatment technology. In 2016, the university signed a pact with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (District), an independent U.S. government and taxing body, to offer the PG Diploma course in the solid water management technology. Each PG diploma course comprises 30 seats. “The experts from the Chicago Metropolitan will share their expertise with the KRU students on water and solid water management technology through various academic activities,” said KRU Directorate of Admissions Director D. Rama Sekhar Reddy.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/krucet-notification-out/article17568595.ece

“Duckworth visits Calumet Water Reclamation Plant, highlights infrastructure agenda,” RiverBender.com, Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)

U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) visited the Calumet Water Reclamation Plant – a Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Chicago treatment facility – today to learn more about the water treatment process, as well as the plant’s efforts to reduce flooding and control pollution. Duckworth also met with local leaders at the plant to discuss her efforts to modernize Illinois’s infrastructure and find common sense solutions to reduce flooding. “Improving our infrastructure doesn’t only help grow our economy, it puts people back to work and improves our city and our state as a whole,” said Senator Duckworth. “I’m glad I was able to learn more about the role the Metropolitan Water Reclamation Calumet Plant plays in providing Illinois families with clean and safe water while reducing flood risks.” The Calumet Water Reclamation Plant (WRP) on the Far South Side of Chicago is one of seven wastewater treatment facilities owned and operated by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD), serving the City of Chicago and 125 Cook County communities. The plant works to provide the region with a quality water supply, converting wastewater into clean water and natural gas.
https://www.riverbender.com/articles/details/duckworth-visits-calumet-water-reclamation-plant-highlights-infrastructure-agenda-19255.cfm#.WM9JRoWcHIU
https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/content/duckworth-visits-calumet-water-reclamation-plant-highlights-infrastructure-agenda

“County aiming for May demo in Riverside Lawn,” Riverside Brookfield Landmark

Although the weather is beginning to warm up and spring is on the horizon, the bulldozers won't be rolling into Riverside Lawn to take down homes purchased by Cook County until sometime in May, according to Rob Rose, executive director of the Cook County Land Bank. In an interview with the Landmark last week, Rose said the Cook County Land Bank has closed on 19 homes in the flood-prone, unincorporated area of Riverside Township, has three more homes under contract, and has sent offer letters to four more property owners who have indicated they may be interested in selling. "Four more stepped forward to reconsider who were non-responsive before," Rose said. "They've indicated an interest and we've forwarded them offer letters and supporting documents." If all of those deals close, the county will have purchased most of the homes in Riverside Lawn, leaving just a handful closer to 39th Street and a few vacant lots in private hands. The Cook County Land Bank and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago partnered to propose buying out homeowners in Riverside Lawn, much of which lies within a flood plain and was hit with a series of floods between 2008 and 2013. Through the years, MWRD has studied ways to safeguard the homes, some of which are a century old. But plans, such as building a flood wall or levee, were deemed too expensive for the number of people protected from flooding. In the end, county officials determined the best long-term solution was to convince property owners to sell their homes to the county to eliminate the problem. The homes purchased by the county will be demolished and ceded to the Cook County Forest Preserve District in perpetuity. But before demolition begins, the county has enlisted the University of Illinois to conduct a survey of four homes on the north end of Riverside Lawn that have been deemed historic. The university was chosen from a field of two organizations responding to a request for proposals from the Cook County Land Bank. The survey will involve both library research and field work, said Rose. The four properties being looked at for the survey are 3742 Gladstone Ave. and 3744 Stanley Ave., both of which are among the oldest homes in Riverside Lawn. Also included will be 3748 Stanley Ave., a two-story home with a brick first story and a stucco half-timber second story that the Cook County Assessor lists as being 95 years old. The fourth property, according to Rose, is 3743 Stanley Ave., a one-story brick home built in the 1940s that has been vacant for years. Rose said the survey will include recommendations that could range from applying to National Register status and preserving the building at one end of the spectrum to preserving some elements or simply photographing and documenting the home prior to demolition. The survey should be in the county's hands this spring. Rose said the county was aiming to begin demolishing houses in May.
http://mobile.rblandmark.com/News/Articles/3-14-2017/County-aiming-for-May-demo-in-Riverside-Lawn-/

"Are there fallout shelters left in Chicago," WJCT
Summary: Kyle Bolyard’s drive to work as a history teacher in suburban Niles, Illinois, takes him past a strange sign. It’s planted on the side of a sturdy, brick building owned by the regional wastewater treatment authority. “I pass this building every single day and at some point along the way I just kind of noticed it,” says Bolyard, 26. “It's a pretty small sign. It's kind of rusted a little bit. It says ‘fallout shelter on floors one and in basement.’” Fallout shelter, as in nuclear fallout following an atomic bomb blast. The symbol on the sign is familiar to Americans who lived through the Cold War: three yellow triangles circumscribed in a circle, pointing down. That sign got Kyle thinking. I was wondering if there were any nuclear fallout a nuclear blast shelters left in the city of Chicago or the area. By some estimates there were hundreds of thousands of dedicated fallout shelters built in the 20 years following World War II. We looked for one still standing, and we did find some old shelters. But they’re hardly the apocalypse-proof, fully-stocked bunkers that were once ready to weather a bomb blast and weeks-worth of radioactive fallout. Still, these remnants of Cold War-era infrastructure do exist across the city. In fact, buildings that served as fallout shelters are often in places you might not expect. Like many cities across the country, Chicago designated existing structures as public fallout shelters, typically choosing large masonry buildings with windowless basements and thick stone or concrete walls. Federal officials affixed these buildings with reflective metal signs measuring 10 by 14 inches. In Chicago those included public school buildings, City Hall and, indeed, the Terrence J. O'Brien Water Reclamation Plant at 3500 W. Howard St. — the building that inspired Kyle Bolyard’s question. Kyle and his wife Amanda Snyder both teach at NewHope Academy in Niles. They say they first wondered about fallout shelters in the Chicago area when Kyle teamed up with a literature teacher at NewHope for a humanities class that included a unit on the Cold War. He was hoping to show the class a fallout shelter for a field trip. Growing up in Edwardsville, Illinois, outside St. Louis, Kyle knew about Nike Missile sites nearby, and our story about similar sites in Chicago got him wondering about other Cold War infrastructure that might still have echoes today. Now that he’s seen some old fallout shelters in person, he’s satisfied; yes, he expected many bare concrete walls to be left behind, but he was still a little surprised. “I wondered if they would still be any supplies left around. It's interesting to hear that those are all removed at a certain point and these are kind of now being used for different things. I guess I didn't expect to see them as weight rooms now,” he says. “Space is so valuable, especially in Chicago, that you would take any available space like that and do something with it.” As for his own thoughts on what to have in a personal fallout shelter, Kyle boils it down to this: “I think it all depends on who you have down there with you.”
http://news.wjct.org/post/are-there-fallout-shelters-left-chicago

“New Pavers vs. Safety Explained In Park Ridge,” Journal & Topics
Summary: One of the issues which has been raised during Park Ridge’s movement toward stormwater management is the role of installing more permeable surfaces to allow land to continue to drain naturally rather than encouraging runoff. When Andrea Cline, a former 1st ward aldermanic candidate, came to the City Council a month ago, she asked aldermen to consider rethinking how it renovates South Northwest Highway. Last year, when Public Works heard at the last minute about a grant program from the Illinois Dept. of Transportation, the city department pulled out a project it had prepared but never had to resources to do. Park Ridge qualified for the grant and will be able to do for that stretch a similar beautification as they did several years ago on South Prospect. Cline asked, why not use permeable paver bricks? Why not plant the trees differently?
http://www.journal-topics.com/news/article_6cbc8d82-09bb-11e7-88d1-636c19d1fe8e.html

“Sold-Out Chicago River Summit Explores Possibilities of Urban Swimming,” Friends of the Chicago River

(L-R) Richard Wilson, Commissioner Josina Morita and Gavin Van Horn

On March 9, 2017, Friends united water quality experts, policy advocates and urban swimming champions to explore the possibility of swimming in the Chicago River system. Hosted by MillerCoors, the 2017 Chicago River Summit featured speakers David Barra, of New York Open Water; Jessica Dexter, from the Environmental Law & Policy Center; Willie Levenson, of Portland's Human Access Project; David St. Pierre, from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD); and John Quail, from Friends of the Chicago River. A Possibilities Panel followed, moderated by Elizabeth Bracket of WTTW and featuring Margaret Frisbie (Friends of the Chicago River), MWRD Commissioner Josina Morita, Gavin Van Horn (Center for Humans and Nature), and Richard Wilson (Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture). This inspiring half-day event provided a forum for understanding the history and renaissance of the Chicago River system, while offering examples of successes in other cities and practical steps for advocacy. Q&As after each session enabled attendees to deepen their awareness and interact with a diverse community of river supporters. Several elected officials attended the sold-out summit, including Chicago 2nd Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins, MWRD President Mariyana Spyropoulos, and MWRD Chairman of Finance Frank Avila.
http://www.chicagoriver.org/news/2017/3/sold-out-chicago-river-summit-explores-possibilities-of-urban-swimming

"Water Infrastructure Funding: Where Do We Go From Here?," Water World
Summary: Donald Trump made big claims during the election about a plan to invest $1 trillion in America’s infrastructure, indicating he would make water a top priority. Indeed, it was one of the least controversial aspects of his campaign. There is currently a $600 billion funding gap for water and wastewater infrastructure, and the need to invest in these systems is one of the few things both parties actually agree on. “These are real numbers that no one is disputing,” said Adam Kranz, CEO of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) in Washington, D.C. “Now we need real money on the table to address them.”

One of two shafts are excavated for the Tunnel Dewatering Pump Station. Part of Cleveland’s Project Clean Lake. Photo courtesy NEORSD.

The president’s vision includes developing a long-term water infrastructure plan to upgrade aging water systems, and tripling funding for state revolving fund (SRF) programs to help states and local governments upgrade critical drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. It’s an enticing promise for communities across the country that are struggling with aging systems and the cost of upgrading their infrastructure to meet new regulatory requirements. However it remains to be seen whether his administration will follow through on all of these investment promises, and more importantly, where all the money will come from.
http://www.waterworld.com/articles/print/volume-33/issue-3/features/water-infrastructure-funding-where-do-we-go-from-here.html

"Editorial: Keep that upstream swim going for a cleaner Chicago River," Chicago Sun Times

Kayakers pass under the Wells Street bridge in 2011. | Scott Stewart~Sun-Times.

Sun-Times Editorial Board
Summary: Hard to imagine now, but swimming marathons in the Chicago River were popular early in the 20th century. Reversing the river’s flow in 1900 had cleaned up the water, and shipping had declined, clearing space for swimmers. But in subsequent years, so much sewage, industrial waste and other pollutants fouled the river that when Mayor Richard J. Daley said in 1973 he hoped Loop workers could someday fish in the river on their lunch hours, experts laughed. So did we. This was a river, after all, whose South Fork on its South Branch was nicknamed Bubbly Creek because of the gases still bubbling from decaying offal flung into the water by giant meatpacking companies. A river that some people viewed only as a highway for barges and an open sewer. Fortunately, we’ve come a long way since 1973, to the point that, as Dale Bowman reports in Sunday’s Sun-Times, the river might be safe enough to swim in well before the official goal of 2030. Let’s celebrate that news — and keep the pressure on to get the job done.
http://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/keep-pushing-for-a-cleaner-chicago-river/

“Swimming the Chicago River: Coming much sooner rather than later,” Chicago Sun-Times
Full article text by author Dale Bowman: As Capt. Pat Harrison launched on the Sanitary and Ship Canal in September, he said, “Whenever I played by the river, my mother would say, `Whatever you do, don’t touch the water, you will get polio,’ It blows my mind to catch fish where my mother said not to touch the water.” That’s primary contact. Decades ago, Harrison swam off the abutment by the “Jackknife Bridge,” just downstream of the Daley Launch. I grew up swimming creeks where Holstein cows were pooping. Who am I to wonder why people want to swim in the Chicago River? With curiosity as much as anything on Thursday, I attended the 2017 Chicago River Summit, “Swimming the Distance: How Do We Get from Here to There?’’ put on by Friends of the Chicago River at MillerCoors on the east side of the South Branch at Jackson. I expected the pipe dream of do-gooders. It was much more. Public swimming in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) will be here. Very soon. “It turned from an `if’ to a `how-and-now’ conversation,’’ said Richard Wilson, city design director, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, during the closing panel. That’s key: Swimming is here for CAWS. The holdup isn’t water quality, but the mechanics of swimming an urban waterway and public perception. On mechanics, Jessica Dexter, attorney for the Environmental Law & Policy Center, began her presentation, “When I started a decade ago, giving a talk on swimming would have gotten me laughed out of the room. Swimming does not seem so far-fetched anymore.’’ But there are legal questions, as well as water-quality and access ones. As to legal, fishable and swimmable were goals from the Clean Water Act. The fishing side has made tremendous gains. “Swimmable is shorthand for support recreation in and on the water,’’ Dexter said. Paddling has been going on for years. Swimming is next and legally attainable. But, as Dexter noted, “Does the public have the right to swim in Illinois? Probably not.’’ Illinois having the most bizarre water-rights laws in the United States, as fishermen, boaters, and paddlers can attest, only complicates that. She said the public having a right to use the water is different than a landowner opening up it to swimming. Then there is the beach license and requirements from the Illinois Department of Health. In terms of water quality? On most days, it is good to go. “So if you want to go swimming, just do it; but there are other dangers in the CAWS,’’ said David St. Pierre, executive director of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. Dangers include high banks, heavy boat traffic, undertows, and sediment issues. Otherwise, he presented encouraging news on water quality. The sticker is minds. “The psychological battle is just as important as the scientific battle,” said Willie Levenson, ring leader for the Human Access Project in Portland, Oregon. That was key in his presentation on opening up, innovatively, the Willamette River to public swimming and water use. Back to the Chicago River, Margaret Frisbie, executive director of the Friends, said in the panel, “The river is clean enough to recreate. . . . We need to change the public perspective.’’ Josina Morita, a commissioner for Water Rec, said many incisive things during the panel, the one that stuck was, “My greatest fear is people seeing the river as a tool for gentrification.’’ That’s for another day.
http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/swimming-the-chicago-river-coming-much-sooner-rather-than-later/

“How to dig a 1-mile tunnel under the North Side of Chicago,” Chicago Tribune
Summary: What's a good way to divert floodwaters from the North Branch of the Chicago River? Dig a deep, deep tunnel to divert the water. That is the gist of the project underway in Albany Park, a neighborhood that saw significant flooding in 2008 and 2013. The tunnel, 150 feet below Foster Avenue, will cost $70 million and is scheduled to be completed by April 2018.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-albany-park-tunnel-htmlstory.html

“City Club of Chicago: Our Great Rivers – What’s Next for the Chicago and Calumet,” WGN Radio

(L-R): MarySue Barrett, Rebekah Scheinfeld, Hon. Mariyana Spyropoulos, and Hon. Patrick Thompson participated on the Our Great Rivers panel at the City Club of Chicago, March 7, 2017. They were joined by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. (City Club of Chicago).

A panel discussion featuring MWRD President Mariyana Spyropoulos and former Commissioner Patrick D. Thompson can be found at: https://www.cityclub-chicago.org/video/1177/our-great-rivers-what-s-next-for-the-chicago-and-calumet.
http://wgnradio.com/2017/03/07/city-club-of-chicago-our-great-rivers-whats-next-for-the-chicago-and-calumet/

“Black History event unites late Mayor Harold Washington’s 21,” Chicago Crusader

MWRD Vice President Barbara McGowan, third from left, welcomed panelists and guests to the District’s annual African American History Month event in February. The event featured the history of the famous Council Wars, the period in Chicago’s political history when Harold Washington, the city’s first Black mayor, fought to overcome a divisive City Council determined to block his proposals and appointments. Pictured with McGowan, L-R, are Robert Shaw, former Commissioner Howard Medley, Helen Shiller, Wallace Davis, Jr., Allan Streeter, Dr. Conrad Worrill, and Mercedes Mallette.

Summary: It was a tumultuous time in Chicago history, but the infamous “Council Wars” that occurred between 1983 and 1986 ultimately provided an education in racial equality, breaking down barriers and helping shape the city that it is today. It was that lesson that Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) Vice President Barbara McGowan embraced in convening the District’s annual African American History Month celebration. The program ushered in a night of conversation, music, food and celebration at the MWRD boardroom on Feb. 16. The focus of this year’s event was the Chicago Council Wars of 1983-1986, and Vice President McGowan brought together a panel of former aldermen: Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans (4th Ward); Allan Streeter (17th Ward); radio personality for WVON AM1690 Clifford Kelley (20th Ward); Wallace Davis, Jr. (27th Ward); Ed Smith (28th Ward); and Cook County Clerk David Orr (49th Ward).
http://chicagocrusader.com/black-history-event-unites-late-mayor-harold-washingtons-21/

“Could algae solve Iowa towns’ clean water woes?,” Associated Press
Summary: Two Iowa State University scientists believe algae can help cut costs for hundreds of small Iowa towns that face up to $1 billion to upgrade their wastewater treatment to meet tougher clean water standards. About 275 small communities face costly wastewater treatment upgrades to meet tighter permit requirements. The technology is getting tested at big and small utilities - from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, the world’s largest wastewater treatment plant, to Dallas Center, a town of about 1,600 residents in central Iowa. The Chicago operation has pumped about $410,000 and three years into testing the technology. “We’ve explored three processes, and this technology shows the most promise,” said Dave St. Pierre, executive director of the Chicago reclamation operation. “It shrinks the footprint significantly and allows you to harvest algae” without the mess associated with other approaches. St. Pierre said the technology helps cut the investment needed to reduce nutrients leaving the plant - and it generates money. “We believe we can produce 64 tons of algae a day” when the technology is scaled up, he said. “We could produce a cash crop that would help us with our operating costs - to the order of $30 million a year.” That kind of math makes the technology attractive, St. Pierre said.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/mar/4/could-algae-solve-iowa-towns-clean-water-woes/

“No bids for Crestwood MWRD property,” Daily Southtown
Summary: No developers submitted bids to the MWRD that offered a long-term lease of some property it owns in Crestwood. The MWRD had set Tuesday as the deadline for bidding on a 60-year lease of seven acres it owns west of Cicero Avenue, directly south of the Calumet Sag Channel and north of the Rivercrest Shopping Center. Crestwood Mayor Lou Presta said that as many as five developers had expressed interest in bidding to lease the property, which the village hopes to see developed for retail use. The mayor plans to meet with developers and the MWRD at a later date.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/news/ct-sta-crestwood-land-lease-st-0302-20170301-story.html

“Iowa State spinoff sees small towns using algae to clean water,” The Des Moines Register

Gross-Wen Technologies using algae to clean nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater. (Photo: Contributed/Gross-Wen Technologies)

Two Iowa State University scientists believe algae can help cut costs for hundreds of small Iowa towns that face up to $1 billion to upgrade their wastewater treatment to meet tougher clean water standards. About 275 small communities face costly wastewater treatment upgrades to meet tighter permit requirements. "We need a better way to have people flush their toilets and get that water treated. Otherwise, we'll bankrupt rural Iowa," said Craig Just, a University of Iowa assistant engineering professor. He's part of a professional group hoping to help assess some of that new technology. ISU's Martin Gross and Zhiyou Wen could be part of the answer. They have developed a system that uses algae to remove phosphorus and nitrogen from wastewater, cleaning water before it's released into the state's rivers and streams. The men spun off their research into a startup: Gross-Wen Technologies, based in Ames. The company's system uses vertical conveyor belts, about 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide, that move in a continual loop, cycling through the wastewater and air as multiple layers of algae grow on them. The algae is then turned into fertilizer pellets. "Algae needs sunlight, carbon dioxide and nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, to grow," said Gross, a postdoctoral fellow at ISU's Center for Crops Utilization Research. And "wastewater has nitrogen and phosphorus that needs to be removed." "We grow the algae while we're treating the wastewater, then the algae gets harvested … and becomes a slow-release, pelletized fertilizer," said Gross, the company's CEO. Wen, the company's chief technology officer, is a professor in ISU's food science and human nutrition department. "We take nitrogen and phosphorus from an area where they're not wanted," Gross said, "and then put them … on crops where they're wanted and needed." The technology is getting tested at big and small utilities — from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, the world's largest wastewater treatment plant, to Dallas Center, a town of about 1,600 residents in central Iowa. The Chicago operation has pumped about $410,000 and three years into testing the technology. "We've explored three processes, and this technology shows the most promise," said Dave St. Pierre, executive director of the Chicago reclamation operation. "It shrinks the footprint significantly and allows you to harvest algae" without the mess associated with other approaches. St. Pierre said the technology helps cut the investment needed to reduce nutrients leaving the plant — and it generates money. "We believe we can produce 64 tons of algae a day" when the technology is scaled up, he said. "We could produce a cash crop that would help us with our operating costs — to the order of $30 million a year." That kind of math makes the technology attractive, St. Pierre said. "It would be something other wastewater plants wouldn’t have to think very hard about upgrading and investing in," he said. In addition to fertilizer, Gross said the algae biomass also could be used to produce bio-plastics or biofuels. ISU tests show differences between algae and off-the-shelf fertilizers, Gross said. It's unlikely, though, that the algae fertilizer can replace the large amounts of fertilizer that Iowa growers need to raise crops such as corn, said Gross and Darren Jarboe, Gross-Wen's vice president of business development. Algae fertilizer is probably better suited for home gardeners and small fruit, vegetable and flower growers, they said. "It could be good for organic growers, although we're not sure it meets organic standards yet," Jarboe said. "It would have to be certified." Gross believes the technology could help small communities cut the costs they face to upgrade their wastewater treatment systems. Regulations that went into effect in 2006 mean hundreds of Iowa towns will face stricter permitting requirements to cut nitrogen ammonia and bacteria over several years. The state estimated that the costs would be close to $1 billion. For example, Gross said, small rural communities that use a lagoon treatment to treat wastewater could face $2.5 million to $5.5 million in improvements. "It's a huge burden on a small tax base," he said. "We think we can save communities a lot of money." Gross said the company hopes to site its first commercial system this year in a small town. Larry Bryant, a senior environmental engineer at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said Gross-Wen Technologies has presented data about its process, but the agency hasn't yet done a formal review. That would happen when a community seeks to use the technology to upgrade its plant.

Gross-Wen Technologies uses algae to remove nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater. Then the algae is turned into fertilizer pellets that growers can use. (Photo: Contributed/Gross-Wen Technologies)

Jarboe and Gross said the company has been working with some existing manufacturers to build the algae systems and the greenhouses that enclose them. If the technology takes off, the company's manufacturing partners would add workers to build the equipment. Gross said water quality is a significant state and national issue. Iowa lawmakers are considering funding proposals this year that can help the state implement the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy. The plan is designed to reduce by 45 percent the nitrogen and phosphorus levels that leave rural and urban areas and contribute to the Gulf of Mexico dead zone, an area about the size of Connecticut that's unable to support aquatic life because of nutrient pollution. In 2015, Des Moines Water Works filed a lawsuit against drainage districts in three north Iowa counties, claiming underground drainage tiles funnel high levels of nitrogen from farm fields into the Raccoon River, a source of drinking water for 500,000 central Iowa residents. That lawsuit is scheduled to be heard in June. "Those nutrients end up in the waterways, causing problems like we see in Des Moines ... or end up in the Gulf of Mexico and cause hypoxia," Gross said. "There's a new need for wastewater technologies." Just, the University of Iowa professor, has asked state leaders invest $2.75 million to test developing technologies at Iowa City's wastewater treatment center. It could help save small communities millions of dollars and help scientists test good ideas. "We’ve got some work to do in Iowa," he said.

Financial incentives
Gross-Wen Technologies received a competitive $100,000 federal grant, as well as a $25,000 Iowa Innovation Corp. grant, to develop algae fertilizer and test it. The company also received a $25,000 Iowa Economic Development Authority loan for commercialization; a $25,000 investment from the Ag Startup Engine, a partnership between ISU and private ag investors; and $225,000 from angel investor Dave Furbush, founder of Midwest Project Partners.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2017/02/24/iowa-state-spinoff-sees-small-towns-using-algae-clean-water/97645020/

“Great American Railroad Journeys,” BBC (England)
Summary: The history of the Chicago River and an overview of the McCook Reservoir are highlighted beginning at the 18 minute mark. Author Libby Hill and MWRD Managing Civil Engineer Kevin Fitzpatrick are featured.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08fqwcr

“Chicago River Cleanup Efforts Bolstered by Phosphorus Agreement,” WTTW Chicago Tonight
Summary: The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and environmental groups are now working together to limit the amount of phosphorus in the river. Phosphorus produces river-killing algae and green slime. Even before the agreement, the MWRD has been working on reducing the amount of phosphorus it puts into the waterways. The district’s biggest phosphorus removal project is at the Stickney plant in Cicero. The Ostara system went into operation last May. Phosphorus and nitrogen are removed from treated water. The recovered phosphorus and nitrogen are converted into a high value fertilizer that not only reduces phosphorus pollution but creates a revenue stream for the district. At the Terrence J. O’Brien plant in Skokie, engineers have been researching a new process that recovers phosphorus from treated wastewater using photosynthesis. As part of the recent court settlement, the MWRD and environmentalists will join together to figure out how much phosphorus should be allowed in Chicago’s waters.
Video: http://www.pbs.org/video/2365964585/
Transcript: http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/02/23/chicago-river-cleanup-efforts-bolstered-phosphorus-agreement

“Short list for the water or wastewater project, commissioned during 2016, that shows the greatest innovation in terms of optimising its physical or environmental footprint,” Global Water Awards
Summary: The phosphorus recover facility at the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant is on the short list of four international projects for the Water / Wastewater Project of the Year Global Water Awards. Other projects are Perth Groundwater Replenishment Scheme, Australia, Liupanshui Sponge City, China and Antarctic Reuse Project.
http://www.globalwaterawards.com/2017-awards-shortlist

“Commissioner Frank Avila honored at Sikh gurdwara in Palatine, Illinois,” Punjab News Express
Summary: Frank Avila, Commissioner of the MWRD since 2002, was invited to the Sikh gurdwara in Palatine, a suburb of Chicago on February 19 and honored by the society for helping the Sikh community. The sangat (congregation) was informed how Avila helped the successful implementation of the O.S.H.A. (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) Waiver from mandatory wearing of hard hat for turban-wearing Sikhs working at MWRD. The turban is a religiously mandated article of faith for practicing Sikhs, and becomes an extension of their body when out in public.
http://punjabnewsexpress.com/diaspora/news/commissioner-frank-avila-honored-at-sikh-gurudwara-in-palatine-illinois-58177.aspx

“Prescription drug collection box installed at Flossmoor Village Hall,” Homewood-Flossmoor Chronicle

The drug take-back box recently installed near the main entrance to Flossmoor Village Hall.

Full article text: It’s a gray metal box, not quite three feet tall, in place at the main entrance of Flossmoor Village Hall, 2800 Flossmoor Road. The modest receptacle, which was installed this week, has an important function as a collection box for unused prescription drugs. Flossmoor is offering the Prescription Drug Take Back Program in partnership with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office Department and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD). The county-wide program officially started on Jan. 23. Last fall, Cook County authorized the comprehensive pharmaceutical drug collection and disposal program. Tod Kamleiter, Flossmoor’s deputy police chief, said the program aims to get unused prescription drugs into a safe place for disposal and also prevent harmful chemicals from entering the environment. When prescription drugs are flushed down the toilet, those chemicals can enter local waterways. Anything placed in the receptacle will not be accessible to people on the outside, he said. The county sheriff’s office will empty the contents of the collection box once a month. Kamleiter said the box will be in full view of a police department video camera 24 hours a day. Maggie Bachus, the chair of Flossmoor’s Green Committee, said the collection box will have definite environmental benefits. “On behalf of the Flossmoor Green Committee, we were thrilled to learn that the Flossmoor Police Department was able to secure a drug take back location at our village hall,” Bachus said. “Over the past few years, we have helped advertise various locations for drug take back events, but as a committee we understand the importance of having a location locally.” During last year’s Recyclepalooza event, many residents asked about how to responsibly get rid of expired or unwanted prescription drugs safely, Bachus said. “It’s outstanding to know Flossmoor has access to a permanent location” for the drug take back program, she said. “As a lifelong resident of Flossmoor, I never realized, until I started volunteering for the village, how fortunate we are to have such dedicated police and fire departments that care so much about safety and service to our community. This program is another example of this.” The MWRD, which manages wastewater treatment plants in the Chicago area, funded the installation of the collection boxes in Flossmoor and other municipalities, Kamleiter said. According to the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), most abused prescription drugs come from family and friends. The DEA has described unused or expired prescription medication as a public safety issue, leading to accidental poisoning, overdose and abuse. The federal agency states:

• Pharmaceutical drugs can be just as dangerous as street drugs when taken without a prescription or a doctor’s supervision. 
• The majority of teenagers abusing prescription drugs get them from family and friends – and the home medicine cabinet.
• Unused prescription drugs thrown into the trash can be retrieved and abused or illegally sold. 
• Every day prescription drugs are dumped down drains, toilets and in garbage.

https://www.hfchronicle.com/article/2017/feb/18/prescription-drug-collection-box-installed-flossmoor-village-hall

“Algonquin Road Sewer Project Only 50% Complete,” Journal Topics
Full article text: Most of the heavy machinery used to install a new underground sewer line along Algonquin Road in Des Plaines is gone for now, even though the overall project is only about 50% complete, city officials said. Once complete, the project will redirect flow from a sewage treatment plant in Skokie to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District treatment plant at Elmhurst Road and Oakton Street in Des Plaines, according to Assistant Director of Public Works and Engineering Jon Duddles. Currently, backhoes and other machinery are waiting at Algonquin and Kolpin Drive to continue work on the $5.4 million project in March. Duddles said the project, which extends from Elmhurst Road to Pennsylvania Avenue, is necessary to alleviate sewage backup problems in the area. Construction along Algonquin began last spring and is expected to be complete by November 2017. Duddles said Monday that work is about 50% done and construction has been halted due to winter weather conditions. As of this month, work from Elmhurst to Andrea Lane has been completed and most of the landscaping has already been restored.
http://m.journal-topics.com/news/article_1b749244-f561-11e6-bf33-5f64a2f0c1e5.html?mode=jqm

“New MWRD Innovation Draws Honor For Cleaning Waterways,” Water Online

Full article text: New technologies implemented by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) to disinfect water through ultraviolet rays have earned high praise from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Illinois Chapter. The UV disinfection project at the O'Brien Water Reclamation Plant (WRP) has claimed the ACEC-IL Honor Award, one of the top prizes bestowed by the chapter each year. The UV project was recognized at the ACEC Engineering Excellence Awards Reception and Luncheon on Feb. 9 at the Hilton in Lisle. "We are excited to be receiving this award, just as excited as we are to improve our waterways through this new technology at the O'Brien Water Reclamation Plant," said MWRD President Mariyana Spyropoulos. "We thank the ACEC Illinois Chapter for the recognition and the men and women who worked so hard to design, construct and maintain this critical facility." Honor Awards are given to projects that are recognized for "exceptional engineering that meet the needs of the client and benefit the public welfare," according to the ACEC-IL. As one of the nine Honor Award winners, the disinfection facility was also nominated for the Eminent Conceptor, the highest overall award announced at the ACEC-IL awards luncheon. The Eminent Conceptor recognizes an engineering achievement demonstrating a high degree of merit and ingenuity, contributing to the advancement of the private practice of engineering, and enhancing the economic and social welfare of the general public. As an Honor Award recipient, the O'Brien project is also eligible for the National ACEC Engineering Excellence Awards competition. Last spring, the MWRD introduced UV technology to disinfect water as a final layer to its treatment process to reduce pathogenic bacteria in the water being released from the O'Brien plant into the North Shore Channel. Between recent disinfection upgrades implemented at Calumet WRP on the Far South Side and the latest enhancements at the O'Brien WRP, the MWRD now has a system in place that will dramatically improve the quality of water throughout the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS), while protecting the region's drinking water supply in Lake Michigan. The O'Brien WRP serves more than 1.3 million people within 143 square miles. The $61.7M UV disinfection system is now the largest wastewater treatment UV installation in the world, having the potential to treat 450 million gallons of water per day (mgd), using 896 lamps that provide a low pressure, high output (LPHO) performance. The disinfection technologies neutralize or kill bacteria and microorganisms in treated water and reduce the risk of health problems resulting from direct contact with the water while swimming or recreating on a waterway. Greeley and Hansen served as the design engineering consultant for the project. "From the kayakers and water taxis, new boat houses and beautiful Riverwalk, we are witnessing a major influx of activity along the Chicago River and other local waterways," said MWRD Commissioner Timothy Bradford. "We believe that the increase in activity is a testament to the impact that this new technology at O'Brien Water Reclamation Plant is already starting to make. The new safeguards put into place at O'Brien will protect our waters for generations to come. “The Honor award is the top level award and will be considered for the highest overall award of Eminent Conceptor which is announced at the ACEC-IL Engineering Excellence Awards luncheon that will be held on February 9, 2017. As an honor award recipient, the O'Brien project is also eligible to submit to the National ACEC Engineering Excellence Awards competition. The Honor Award is the top level award and will be considered for the highest overall award of Eminent Conceptor which is announced at the ACEC-IL Engineering Excellence Awards luncheon that will be held on February 9, 2017. As an Honor Award recipient, the O'Brien project is also eligible for submission to the National ACEC Engineering Excellence Awards competition. Disinfection occurs after wastewater passes through a series of treatment processes, including screening, filtering, and settling in the primary stage and microbial aeration in the second stage. After going through primary treatment and secondary treatment, water then flows through the disinfection facility via seven channels. Each channel has the capacity to disinfect 75 mgd using the UV light. With two banks of lights per channel and 64 bulbs per bank, there are a total of 896 bulbs installed in the facility, although the bulbs will not all be in use at all times. The lights provide a green glow that emanates through the treated water. Since the UV disinfection system uses light to deactivate the bacteria, the light output is optimized for light in the UV spectrum and not the normal visible white light.

About The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
Established in 1889, the MWRD is an award-winning, special purpose government agency responsible for wastewater treatment and stormwater management in Cook County, Illinois. For more information, visit www.mwrd.org.
https://www.wateronline.com/doc/new-mwrd-innovation-draws-honor-cleaning-waterways-0001

“We Moved Heaven and Earth for Clean Water,” Chicago Magazine

Deep Tunnel Photo: Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune

Full article text: Chicago is home to some of the greatest engineering feats in the world. Like the skyscraper? Yeah, that. But some of our most impressive technical accomplishments have come not from reaching toward the sky but from wallowing in the muck. First, we had to build a sewer system in a swamp. To do so, the city lifted its buildings—with great teams of workers manning jacks, raising the structures slowly enough that business could continue inside—so that waste had a direction to go in. That direction was the Chicago River, and then Lake Michigan, where we also got our fresh water. So when all that effluvia started contaminating our supply, we built offshore intake cribs—those funny little circular structures way out past the lighthouses—that pumped clean water through 60-foot-deep tunnels designed by the brilliant engineer Ellis Chesbrough. But as the city’s population—and the volume of its sewage—grew, two miles out proved to be not far enough. So in 1892 the city started constructing the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, moving more earth than the builders of the Panama Canal. The canal crossed a low ridge 12 miles west of the lake, creating the gravitational differential needed to reverse the course of the Chicago River so that its waste stopped draining into the lake and went instead into the immense Mississippi River. Even that would be insufficient to keep Chicago from occasionally being flooded with its own dirty water. So in 1975 the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District began building the Deep Tunnel, a 109-mile system of massive underground reservoirs reaching widths of 33 feet and buried 350 feet down—an 18-billion-gallon storm drain. Chicago’s epic of excrement wouldn’t be complete without the world’s largest water treatment facility: the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant, a 413-acre installation in Cicero that treats 700 million gallons (about 1,400 Olympic-size pools’ worth) of wastewater a day. But the plant doesn’t just reclaim water. It’s also the largest nutrient recovery facility in the world, keeping phosphorus—a waste-processing byproduct—out of the waterways, saving it for the farm fields of the Midwest.
http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/March-2017/Why-We-Love-Chicago/Clean-Water/

“Ostara Named To Global Cleantech Group Hall of Fame,” WaterOnline
Summary: Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies announced today that it is the first company to be inducted into the Global Cleantech Hall of Fame after being named to the prestigious Global Cleantech 100 for seven years. The Global Cleantech 100 is produced by the Cleantech Group and is a comprehensive list of private companies with the highest potential to make the most significant market impact, and that are best positioned to solve tomorrow's clean technology challenges. Ostara's nutrient recovery solution recovers otherwise polluting nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen in wastewater and transforms them into a unique Root-Activated™ fertilizer that helps wastewater treatment facilities solve operational issues; meet environmental regulations; and, generate revenue through the sale of this high value fertilizer. Ostara operates multiple facilities throughout North America and Europe and opened the world's largest nutrient recovery facility in partnership with the MWRD in Spring 2016.
https://www.wateronline.com/doc/ostara-named-to-global-cleantech-group-hall-of-fame-0001

MWRD to lease Crestwood land for possible development," Daily Southtown
Summary: The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District is agreeing to a long-term lease of some of its large land holdings along the Calumet Sag Channel in Crestwood, the first step in that suburb's plans to tap that property for commercial development. In soliciting bids for a 60-year lease of seven acres of its property west of Cicero Avenue and directly south of the channel and north of the Rivercrest Shopping Center, the district is making an exception to its long-held policy of allowing land leases of no more than 39 years.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/news/ct-sta-crestwood-mwrd-lease-st-0205-20170203-story.html

Top Projects: Thornton Composite Reservoir,” Water and Wastes Digest

16 1230_Water and Wastes_Thornton.pdf

“Researchers Claim Algae-Based Waste Treatment Saves,” WaterOnline
Full article text: Researchers at Iowa State University claim their new wastewater treatment technology, which relies on algae, can benefit municipalities struggling to pay for treatment upgrades. Zhiyou Wen, professor of food science and human nutrition, noted that these communities “are looking at upgrades to their existing treatment systems costing up to $5 million, which is a huge burden on these small towns,” according to the university. New regulatory burdens often prompt the need for upgrades at treatment facilities. “That’s the niche for us. We have this algae cultivation system that can help these communities meet their new nutrient limits at a fraction of the cost of other systems,” Wen said. The researchers dubbed their new system the Revolving Algal Biofilm treatment system. Wen developed the system with Martin Gross, a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Crops Utilization Research, according to Iowa State University. Patent documents for this system describe it as an algal growth system comprised of “flexible sheet material, the flexible sheet material being configured to facilitate the growth and attachment of algae.” “This reactor greatly improves the efficiency of carbon dioxide and sunlight absorption. We found that the biomass productivity is about 10 times higher than a conventional system,” Wen said. A snapshot of the technology, per Iowa State: “The system uses vertical conveyor belts, about 6 feet tall and three feet wide, which revolve in a continual loop, cycling through the wastewater and air as multiple layers of algae grow on them...The algae produced from this new process can be harvested, pelletized and used as a sustainable fertilizer.” The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago tested the system in a year-long study. “Promising results” prompted the district to extend the project another year, according to the university. The inventors also built a mobile version of their system to take on the road. “Instead of inviting a local community’s water treatment personnel to come to our facility to perform water treatment tests, we built this trailer to take to the community to treat wastewater onsite,” Wen said. The researchers secured investments to help them get their business off the ground, according to the university.
https://www.wateronline.com/doc/researchers-claim-algae-based-waste-treatment-saves-0001

“MWRD’s Time-lapse video captures transformation,” Chicago Crusader

17 0121_Crusader_Space to Grow_Wadsworth timelapse.pdf

“Opti Raises $5.5M to Scale Intelligent Stormwater Management,” PR Newswire
Summary: OptiRTC, Inc. ("Opti"), announced that it has closed on $5.5M in equity funding, led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF) with participation from existing investors including MissionPoint Partners, the Renewal Funds, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, and Geosyntec Consultants. The funds will be used to scale operations and expand sales and marketing to help Opti accelerate its growth at the watershed level within existing and new sites across the Country.  Headquartered in Boston, Opti provides the only cloud-based solution that directly monitors and controls stormwater infrastructure in real-time. To date, Opti has deployed more than 130 commercial and public projects across 21 states. Customers include the Philadelphia Water Department, Nestlé Waters North America, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Washington D.C. Department of Energy and Environment, and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. Urban stormwater management represents one of the most pervasive and significant environmental issues in the United States. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nearly 850 billion gallons of stormwater pollutants are discharged into waterways each year and over 7,000 communities face regulatory mandates to manage stormwater runoff more effectively. In recent years, a shift in the frequency and intensity of rainfall events coupled with increased economic development and urbanization have further impacted communities through poor water quality, localized flooding, and combined sewer overflows. The use of intelligent and adaptive control technology has helped customers save up to 90% of their capital cost, while achieving their environmental and regulatory objectives.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/opti-raises-5-5m-scale-133600705.html

“Breathing new life into wastewater treatment; Membrane-aerated biofilm reactor holds promise as a means of removing nutrients cost-effectively while using less energy,” WE&T, WEF.org
Summary: Process intensification at water resource recovery facilities has captured the attention of the wastewater sector. Interest has grown in new approaches to increase wastewater treatment capacity and capability within existing infrastructure. Working toward energy neutrality represents one approach which utilities are defining and measuring their goals in this area. The MWRD knows firsthand about the pathway to energy neutrality; they partnered with GE Water & Process Technologies to test an innovative membrane-aerated biofilm reactor at the O’Brien Water Reclamation Plant. Article co-authored by Asst. Director of Engineering Tom Kunetz.
17 0101_WEandT_OBrien.pdf

“Chicago suburb targets sewer inflow and infiltration,” Public Works Magazine
Full article text: The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago is smart: It requires tributary communities to identify and fix leaking pipes on both public and private property. RJN Group, Inc. (RJN), a consulting engineering and specialty field services firm, is pleased to announce a new contract with the Village of Buffalo Grove (Village). In 2015/2016, RJN completed the initial MWRD submittal requirements for the Village. This new contract is for Professional Engineering and Specialty Field Services to help the Village meet short-term program requirements of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) Infiltration/Inflow Control Program (IICP). Among the services that RJN will provide for this particular contract are:

• Closed-Circuit Televising (CCTV) Review of Gravity Sewers
• Smoke Testing
• Manhole Inspections
• Dyed Water Flooding
• Lift Station Inspections
• Annual Reporting

Using the data collected from these condition assessments of the MWRD Prioritization Area, the Village can develop a targeted, prioritized rehabilitation program to reduce inflow and infiltration entering the sanitary sewer system. RJN will also be developing a Private Sector Program (PSP) and a Long-Term Operations and Maintenance Program (LTOMP) as required by the MWRD IICP. This program will bring Buffalo Grove into compliance with MWRD IICP requirements by the end of 2019. RJN is in the process of completing similar MWRD compliance projects for other cities and villages in Illinois, including Des Plaines, Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, and Wilmette.
http://www.pwmag.com/water-sewer/chicago-suburb-targets-sewer-inflow-and-infiltration_o

“DC Water, Water Environment Federation Announce National Green Infrastructure Program,” WaterWorld
Summary: DC Water and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) today announce the issuance of the first certifications under the National Green Infrastructure Certification Program (NGICP). The NGICP is designed to verify that the inaugural group of 62 certificants have successfully demonstrated competency in the foundational knowledge, concepts, and terminology required to perform tasks related to green infrastructure (GI) construction, inspection, and maintenance. Housed under the WEF Stormwater Institute, the NGICP is being developed and implemented with the support of a growing number of utilities to help advance the program nationwide. Current NGICP Partnering Organizations include: the District Department of Energy and Environment (D.C.), Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (Wis.), Montgomery County (Md.), Kansas City Water Services Department (Mo.), Fairfax County (Va.), City of Baltimore Department of Public Works (Md.), Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District (Ky.), San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (Calif.), Capital Region Water (Pa.), Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (Ill.), New Orleans Delegation (La.), Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (Pa.), Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (Ohio), and the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (Mass.).
http://www.waterworld.com/articles/2017/01/dc-water-water-environment-federation-announce-national-green-infrastructure-program-certifications.html

“Experts seek ways to protect environment from rising road salt runoff,” Chicago Tribune
Summary: Rock salt is everywhere in the Midwest during winter, spread as a remedy for snowy and icy highways, city streets, parking lots and sidewalks. But sodium chloride's safety benefits can obscure what scientists say are widespread and troubling environmental costs. After melting snow and ice, sodium chloride drains into sewers and washes into rivers. Once in the water, researchers say it chokes aquatic life and changes the composition of the region's streams and lakes. It seeps into the soil, affecting the process by which trees and plants soak up water for healthy limbs and leaves. It makes its way into the groundwater, building up over time in higher amounts every year. The salt dust and spray that blows from roadways burns vegetation and stunts plant growth. In winter weary states from Michigan to Wisconsin, testing by the U.S. Geological Survey shows chloride levels in streams continue to rise. Concentrations are predictably higher in winter, but the study, completed in 2014, showed increases throughout the year at northern testing sites, including locations in suburban Chicago and Milwaukee. The MWRD points out that public safety is paramount in this whole issue.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-road-salt-environment-met-20170126-story.html

“2017 Chicago River Summit: Swimming the Distance: How Do We Get from Here to There?” Friends of the Chicago River
Summary: Join Friends of the Chicago River, along with other water quality experts, policy advocates, and urban swimming champions as we explore these questions and discuss how to make swimming in the Chicago River system a reality. Speakers include David Barra, New York Open Water; Jessica Dexter, Environmental Law & Policy Center; Willie Levenson, Human Access Project; and David St. Pierre, MWRD.
http://www.chicagoriver.org/get-involved/attend/2017-chicago-river-summit

“Collaborative Resolution with MWRD Addresses Phosphorus Pollution in Chicago Area Waterways,” Friends of the Chicago River
Summary: The MWRD and citizen organizations Environmental Law & Policy Center, Friends of the Chicago River, Gulf Restoration Network, Natural Resources Defense Council, Prairie Rivers Network, and Sierra Club are pleased to announce a collaborative resolution to lawsuits concerning the MWRD’s Total Phosphorus discharge from its three largest water reclamation plants to the Chicago Area Waterway System. The parties’ settlement agreement maps out a long-term plan to gather essential data and, in cooperation with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, address any phosphorus related adverse conditions in the region’s waterways.
http://www.chicagoriver.org/news/2017/1/collaborative-resolution-with-mwrd-addresses-phosphorus-pollution-in-chicago-area-waterways

“Iowa State University improves algae technology to treat wastewater for communities and businesses,” High Plains/Midwest AG Journal
Summary: Iowa State University technology that improves the efficiency of wastewater reclamation using algae has gotten the attention of small Iowa communities and the largest wastewater treatment system in the world. The MWRD has tested the Revolving Algal Biofilm treatment system. It has finished a yearlong study treating waste streams from one of its water reclamation plants and extended the research project another year because of promising results.
http://www.hpj.com/general/iowa-state-university-improves-algae-technology-to-treat-wastewater-for/article_5887add7-d986-58ac-aa2c-4158edef075a.html

“Experts seek ways to protect environment from rising road salt runoff,” Chicago Tribune
Summary: Rock salt is everywhere in the Midwest during winter, spread as a remedy for snowy and icy highways, city streets, parking lots and sidewalks. But sodium chloride's safety benefits can obscure what scientists say are widespread and troubling environmental costs. The persistent and increasing buildup of sodium chloride is worsening across the upper Midwest, researchers said, especially near large cities where road salt is liberally spread for months. In an effort to slow the trend, Illinois plans to institute a strict water quality standard for chloride next year. Chloride concentration levels in Chicago Area Rivers are routinely above acceptable limits, according to data from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. It only takes 1 teaspoon of road salt, the reclamation district says, to permanently pollute 5 gallons of water. The new year-round standard for chloride, 500 mg per liter (or .08 ounces per gallon), for the Chicago Area Waterway System — the Chicago River, Calumet River and Cal-Sag Channel — and the Lower Des Plaines River goes into effect July 1, 2018.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-road-salt-environment-met-20170126-story.html

“Conservancy seeks funding for Kankakee River project,” Daily-Journal
Summary: The Kankakee River Conservancy District Board will be exploring potential grant money for the district to participate in a proposed project that would use an "in-stream sediment collector" to remove sand from the river and combine it with tree wastes from utility line clearance and treated biosolids from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. The combined new soil could be used in construction of road right-of-ways, where it would serve as filter material to capture roadside contaminants, such as road salts, according to Chuck Theiling, an ecosystem restoration and management biologist with the Army Corps Rock Island District. He is involved with a similar sand removal project on the Mackinaw River, where it joins the Illinois River at Pekin.
http://www.daily-journal.com/news/local/conservancy-seeks-funding-for-kankakee-river-project/article_fbe7c8ce-ee65-5014-8cd9-c5e64e6825c9.html

“MWRD Deal Aims to Reduce Algae Pollution in Chicago River,” WTTW Chicago Tonight
Summary: The decades long fight to clean up the Chicago River took a step forward last week with the resolution of two lawsuits targeting phosphorous discharge that has polluted waters from Chicago to the Gulf of Mexico.  On Jan. 19, members of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago’s Board of Commissioners voted to increase pollution controls and monitoring at its largest wastewater plants by 2030. The plan is part of an agreement between MWRD and several environmental organizations that resolves litigation over pollution at three of MWRD’s Chicago-area sewage plants. In exchange for a dismissal of one lawsuit, MWRD also agreed to pay more than $1.7 million in attorneys’ fees. “I want to commend our staff and our outside counsel for bringing this forward,” said MWRD Commissioner Debra Shore at the board’s Jan. 19 meeting. “I want to thank the conservation community for their assertive advocacy, for their really pushing the district to get to this point where I think we will benefit the Chicago area waterways. We’ve come a long way with disinfection and with bringing the reservoirs online so that water quality is better, but this will bring us even further. So it’s a big day.”

North Branch of the Chicago River (Jeremy Atherton / Creative Commons)

In response to two pending lawsuits – one in U.S. District Court and one before the Illinois Pollution Control Board – MWRD agreed to work with environmental groups to reduce phosphorous discharge from its plants. MWRD will upgrade pollution controls and conduct water quality monitoring. It also agreed to hire scientists and engineers to study the Chicago River system and present a plan to eliminate harmful algal and plant issues. The study will also determine the feasibility of MWRD reducing its phosphorous discharge limit by 10 times, a move that would fall in line with more stringent limits in other parts of the U.S. Other plaintiff organizations were the Sierra Club, the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Gulf Restoration Network and Friends of the Chicago River.
http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/01/25/mwrd-deal-aims-reduce-algae-pollution-chicago-river

“Algae technology helps treat wastewater,” Feedstuffs
Summary: Iowa State University technology that improves the efficiency of wastewater reclamation using algae has gotten the attention of small Iowa communities and the largest wastewater treatment system in the world. The system uses vertical conveyor belts that are about 6 ft. tall and 3 ft. wide and revolve in a continual loop, cycling through the wastewater and air as multiple layers of algae grow on them. The MWRD has tested the Revolving Algal Biofilm treatment system and has finished a yearlong study treating waste streams at the O’Brien WRP and has extended the research project another year because of promising results.
http://www.feedstuffs.com/news/algae-technology-helps-treat-wastewater

“First Avenue bike path nears completion,” Landmark
Summary: Students and other active people have been using the bike path connecting 26th Street in North Riverside with Riverside-Brookfield High School – even though barricades indicate that the newest section of the path isn't officially open yet. Throughout the late fall and into winter, the path was located in an active construction zone, with crews from the MWRD working to shore up the massive Salt Creek Intercepting Sewer, which runs far underground along First Avenue. A section of the land earmarked for the path along the west side of First Avenue, near its intersection with Golfview Avenue, served as a construction staging area for the MWRD. A portion of the path remains unfinished as it became too cold to lay asphalt. The path will be completed this spring.
http://mobile.rblandmark.com/News/Articles/1-24-2017/First-Avenue-bike-path-nears-completion/

“STPs, a necessity,” Telangana Today (India)

Full article text: Industry Institute Partnership Cell (IIPC) and department of civil engineering of Kakatiya Institute of Technology and Science (KITS) jointly organized an expert lecture on “Environmental sustainability and waste water management”. Delivering the lecture, Syam Sunder, chief electrical engineer of Egan plant, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, US, stressed on the construction of sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Warangal city, as there are no STPs in the city. He also said that half of STPs in India are dysfunctional. “We have STPs that can treat only 30 per cent of the sewage water, but half of them are not functioning,” he added. “In the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits, 700-800 million liters per day (MLD) of sewage is released into the lakes and Musi River. If the STPs are established, they will help to protect the environment and solve the water problems in cities,” he explained. Dr. Y Manohar, KITS director, said that they are trying to extract the precious metals from electronic waste (e-waste) in the future by using the latest technology with the help of our proud technocrats. GWMC, Superintending Engineer Abdul Rahaman, KITS principal P Venkateshwara Rao, Professor in-charge and HoD Prof V Ramaiah, Dean Planning Prof L Sudheer Reddy, PRO Dr. D Prabhakara Chary, deans and faculty members were present.
http://telanganatoday.news/stps-a-necessity

“Researchers Claim New Approach To Wastewater Nutrients,” Water Online

Full article text: Finnish researchers claim they have developed a new method for converting the nutrients in wastewater into fertilizer. In lab tests, their method separated 99 percent of the nitrogen and up to 99 percent of phosphorus in wastewater, producing “granular ammonium sulphate (NH4)2SO4 and phosphorus precipitate suitable for fertilizers,” according to a statement from Aalto University in Finland. Riku Vahala, a researcher and professor at Aalto University, described the significance of the study. "There are many different methods for removing nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater, but none of them meets the need of capturing their nutrients. It is estimated that the industrial production of nitrogen used for fertilizers is responsible for approximately 2 percent of the entire world's energy consumption. By capture of nutrients from communities' wastewater it is possible to supplement 6 percent of the industrially produced ammoniac nitrogen and about one-tenth of phosphorus used for fertilizers," he said. The goal of the project is to create a cost-effective way to recycle the nutrients in wastewater, according to a statement from the university. Researchers will begin building pilot equipment to test their method this year. Industry pros are increasingly trying to make use of the components of wastewater. Chicago, for instance, is trying to move to a “zero waste” model and recover more nutrients from wastewater. To that end, the city built the world’s largest phosphorus recovery facility at the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant. “All of this ... is moving Chicago in the direction of a zero waste model,” Next City reported. Nutrients can be a valuable asset to farmers. “We’re going to run out of phosphorus probably in 30 to 50 years,” said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a board member for the company operating the Chicago plant, per WTTW’s Chicago Tonight. “So here’s a way that we can produce it locally, at the sewage treatment plant.”
http://www.wateronline.com/doc/researchers-claim-new-approach-wastewater-nutrients-0001

“This is the deepest depth a human can go in Chicago city limits,” WGN Radio
Full article: CHICAGO — How low can you go within Chicago city limits? About 365 feet below ground, according to Kevin Fitzpatrick, managing civil engineer for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. That’s where the floor of the Calumet TARP Pumping Station pump rooms rest far below Chicago’s Riverdale neighborhood at 400 E. 130th St. It’s the lowest inhabitable point in Chicago. Click to listen.
http://wgnradio.com/2017/01/17/this-is-the-deepest-depth-a-human-can-go-in-chicago-city-limits/

“MWRD’s Time-lapse video captures transformation,” The Chicago Crusader
Summary: The campus of an elementary school in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood has undergone a stunning transformation that will provide an education in stormwater management that extends beyond the traditional classroom. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) documented the transformation from demolition through completion using time-lapse video. To view the three minute footage, visit https://youtu.be/s5Hx3f2CkzM.
http://chicagocrusader.com/mwrds-time-lapse-video-captures-transformation/

“Arena announces $36 million in improvements for 45th Ward schools: early education at St Cornelius, Prussing annex,” Nadig Newspapers
Summary: The establishment of an early education center on the Saint Cornelius campus and the construction of an annex at Prussing School will be part of a $36 million investment in schools located in the 45th Ward, according to Alderman John Arena. The plan also includes athletic field improvements at Hitch and Farnsworth elementary schools and Schurz High School. Arena said that funds are being used from a variety of sources, including a grant from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago for a permeable playing surface at Farnsworth. Arena announced the capital improvement projects at the Jan. 16 meeting of the Portage Park Neighborhood Association.
http://nadignewspapers.com/2017/01/17/arena-announces-36-million-in-improvements-for-45th-ward-schools-early-education-at-st-cornelius-prussing-annex/

“This Is the Lowest Point A Human Can Go In Chicago City Limits,” DNA Info

The Calumet TARP Pumping Station is the lowest point of the TARP System and lowest point in Chicago.

Full article text: CHICAGO — How low can you go within Chicago city limits? About 365 feet below ground, according to Kevin Fitzpatrick, managing civil engineer for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. That's where the floor of the Calumet TARP Pumping Station pump rooms rest far below Chicago's Riverdale neighborhood at 400 E. 130th St. It's the lowest inhabitable point in Chicago. The pumping station is part of the Calumet Water Reclamation Plant, which is a component of a massive system in Chicago and the suburbs designed to protect water quality in Lake Michigan and the Chicago Area Waterway System and to manage stormwater. TARP stands for "Tunnel and Reservoir Plan," which according to MWRD was adopted in 1972 to "comply with federal and state water quality standards in the 375 square miles combined sewer area consisting of Chicago and 51 suburbs." It is more commonly known as the Deep Tunnel project.

The Tunnel and Reservoir Plan, intended primarily for pollution control, is made up of four distinct tunnel systems: Mainstream, Des Plaines, Calumet and Upper Des Plaines. [Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago]

The tunnel and reservoir system, according to the water reclamation district, consists of four tunnel systems: Mainstream, Des Plaines, Calumet and Upper Des Plaines, which run underground throughout Chicago and the suburbs. After storms, pumping stations like the Calumet station pump water out of the tunnels to make room for more water from future possible storms. The water is sent to water reclamation plants to be treated before it's discharged back into waterways. The system also includes giant reservoirs intended for flood control like the Thornton Composite Reservoir in suburban Thornton and the Majewski Reservoir near O’Hare. The public can schedule a tour at the Calumet Water Reclamation Plant by calling 312-751-6633 or by clicking here. All visitors must complete a tour waiver and submit photo identification at least three weeks in advance of the tour, according to Allison Fore, a water reclamation district spokeswoman. The lowest point most humans go in Chicago is the Clinton Blue Line subway station, 426 S. Clinton St., or the tunnel just east of it. Those are both about 66 feet below the city's surface, CTA spokeswoman Irene Ferradaz said.
https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170112/riverdale/lowest-point-in-chicago-what-is-mwrd-pumping-station

“Indo-US knowledge sharing workshop on management techniques held in Hyderabad,” Web India 123
Full article text: Environment Protection Training and Research Institute (EPTRI), Telangana's Nodal Agency on Climate Change for the state of Telangana and Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS & SB), have jointly organized a two-day workshop with the support of Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD), US here today. MWRD is managing the entire sewage system, storm water drainage and the sewage treatment plants at Cook County, Illinois where it has been successful in developing and operating a sustainable system, a release said here. The workshop comes in the background of Hyderabad being one of the most water stressed metro cities with insufficient waste treatment facilities, and the State Government's desire to ensure sustainable growth for the city, improving water availability and public health. MWRD and their delegates shared their experiences and good practices related to all aspects of water resources management including the creation of sustainable solutions, efficiency, governance, management. As the state's Nodal agency for climate change, EPTRI has prepared the State Action Plan on Climate Change besides the State of Environmental Report for the State of Telangana and Hyderabad, it is also preparing a Water Report for the state of Telangana. The objective of having a long term vision for water sustainability is uppermost in the vision of Telangana.
http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20170110/3031015.html

“Funding options for lake clean-up under consideration,” The Hindu
Full article text: The Government was considering various funding options for taking up total clean-up of 19 lakes in and around the twin cities and for establishing 10 sewage treatment plants projected at Rs.1,600 crore based on a study undertaken by the Environment Protection, Training and Research Institute (EPTRI) here. The Union Ministry for Environment and Forests and the Ministry for Urban Development had given in-principle approval for the works and the funding agency IL&FS had offered lending to an extent of Rs.700 crore while funds could be expected from the Green Climate Fund also, said EPTRI Director-General Kalyan Chakravarthy on Tuesday. He was interacting with press persons during the two-day Indo-US Knowledge workshop on ‘Water Collection, Treatment and Management Techniques’ hosted by the Institute with the participation of top officials of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) others. The EPTRI was also in the process of preparing an environment status report for the Hyderabad city and Telangana besides being involved in the policy framework for water. The programme had experts from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago which manages sewage, storm water drainage and treatment plants at Cook County, Illinois, with a budget of over one billion dollars. Mr. Chakravarthy said the workshop was a result of Municipal Administration Minister K.T. Rama Rao’s visit to Chicago and his invite to waste water treatment experts to the capital for an exchange of expertise which could later on translate into technology knowhow etc. “Most of their water bodies were also polluted but they cleaned them up, hopefully we can learn from them to clean up our Musi and Hussainsagar,” he said. Municipal Administration Secretary Navin Mittal said there was an ambitious plan to ensure that all the 1,200 million liters a day sewage was treated rather than 600 MLD as now and the Government was particular that it got running as soon as possible by identifying technologies and funds. Greater Chicago Metropolitan officials Frank Avila and David St. Pierre said tough decisions were necessary to replicate their success story because most funding was through taxes or bonds. “People have to be challenged for sustainable living because water is not “free”. Earlier, HMWSSB ED M. Satyanarayana gave a presentation on the current state and future plans.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/Funding-options-for-lakeclean-up-under-consideration/article17019338.ece

“Government Affairs Seminar,” Illinois Water Environment Association
Summary: Among the guest speakers at the IWEA 2017 Government Affairs Seminar held on Friday, Jan. 20 were MWRD’s own Tom Kunetz, Asst. Director of Engineering and WEF Vice President Board of Trustees and Yvonne (Mwende) Lefler, Principal Civil Engineer. Tom delivered the keynote address and Mwende discussed “Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal and Recovery with Existing Infrastructure.” The seminar was held at the Chicago Marriott Southwest, in Burr Ridge, Ill.
www.iweasite.org

"Evolving From Controlled Biosolids Distribution To Revenue-Generating Compost," Water Online Magazine – Guest Column by the MWRD

By Allison Fore

Chicago continues its long tradition of innovative biosolids management by introducing a new model for sustainability and community service.

Since the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) was created in 1889, it has worked to clean and protect the local waterways by treating wastewater and managing stormwater. Much can change in 127 years, and the evolution of the MWRD’s work with solids generated by the wastewater treatment process offers a prime example of that change. The MWRD serves an equivalent population of 10.35 million people in an 883-square-mile area, covering nearly all of Cook County, IL, which includes Chicago and 128 suburban communities. To meet the demands of the vast amount of waste generated by the region, the MWRD owns and operates seven water reclamation plants and 22 pumping stations. The MWRD treats an average of 1.4 billion gallons of wastewater each day, with the capacity to treat over two billion gallons per day.

40 Years Of Successful Biosolids Use
For the past four decades, the MWRD has successfully used biosolids to reclaim land, support agriculture, enhance recreational areas, restore and replenish the tree canopy, partner with community gardens, create green landscapes, and use for educational purposes. There are more than 100 users fertilizing golf courses and athletic fields at public parks and school grounds with biosolids. A safe, nutrient-rich, organic product resulting from the wastewater treatment process, the use of biosolids leads to cost reductions, improved soil quality, and increased water retention.

At a time when there is growing scrutiny over fertilizers and pesticides, we are supporting a natural trend that is both resourceful to our environment and also our taxpayers.

Beginning in the 1940s, the early days of wastewater treatment, the solids generated were sent to landfills. However, in step with the environmental movement of the 1970s that saw the birth of the U.S. EPA and the Clean Water Act, the MWRD purchased 14,000 acres of strip-mined land in downstate Fulton County, IL, and set about restoring the severely degraded land back to usable real estate using MWRD biosolids. Known as “The Prairie Plan,” MWRD biosolids were barged 200 miles south along the Illinois River and were distributed over the property as a way to recycle urban wastes safely into the natural environment. The Prairie Plan transformed thousands of acres of strip-mined soil into productive agricultural land where corn, soybeans, wheat, and hay have flourished for decades. The project also produced some of the best outdoor recreational property in the state; the property is now home to abundant wildlife, including a healthy deer herd, wild turkey, quail, and waterfowl. The Prairie Plan received the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award for 1974.

A Temporary Setback
At the same time the MWRD was developing and implementing the Prairie Plan, it had also developed a sewage sludge product called NuEarth, which was air-dried Imhoff sludge, and given away for horticultural uses. Between the 1970s and 1990s, however, scientists raised concerns about the levels of heavy metals that were found in biosolids throughout the U.S., so distribution came to a halt. In 1986, the MWRD implemented pretreatment and industrial waste programs that led to drastic reductions in the concentration of metals in biosolids. The trace metals found in most biosolids produced today far exceed federal Exceptional Quality standards. Trace metals such as copper, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, and zinc are essential plant nutrients that can be found in MWRD biosolids but at a fraction of the maximum allowable levels. MWRD biosolids provide soils with major nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, minor nutrients such as calcium, magnesium and sulfur, and with metals such as iron and manganese that serve as micronutrients and stimulate healthy soil.

Biosolids Program Receives State of Illinois Validation
While the MWRD has been building its biosolids program for decades, the growth of the program was limited as the state of Illinois did not recognize all federal biosolids regulatory standards. That changed on July 20, 2015, when Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation amending the Illinois Environmental Protection Act adopting the USEPA Part 503 EQ biosolids standard to recognize EQ biosolids as a resource and not a sludge or a waste. EQ biosolids, according to federal and state regulatory standards, are a superior alternative to chemical fertilizers for turf grass in landscaping, parks, and athletic fields, as well as for agriculture. The legislation recognizes EQ biosolids as a safe, beneficial, and renewable resource that should be used locally and made available to the public. The new law is in line with federal standards, which provide that the EQ biosolids are “a resource to be recovered” that “can be used on land as a beneficial recyclable material that improves soil tilth, fertility, and stability.” This high-quality product will no longer be subject to more stringent regulation as a sludge or other waste and instead will be allowed for nearly unrestricted distribution.

The composting program has sparked an entirely new enterprise from which to grow and expand, generate revenue, and ultimately protect the environment.

“At a time when there is growing scrutiny over fertilizers and pesticides, we are supporting a natural trend that is both resourceful to our environment and also our taxpayers,” said MWRD President Mariyana Spyropoulos. “Recognition of Exceptional Quality biosolids in the state of Illinois is consistent with federal rules and is an important step towards achieving a resource recovery model. Changing the law made good environmental sense and good economic sense.”

Resource Recovery Ordinance Opens Doors To Composting
The MWRD’s Board of Commissioners, a nine-member elected body that creates policy for the 2,000-person government agency, implemented a Resource Recovery Ordinance in October 2016. This ordinance allows the MWRD to accept vegetative materials, such as yard waste and other organic materials, for beneficial reuse. MWRD staff developed a program in which wood chips and yard waste such as leaves, branches, and twigs are composted with biosolids to produce a composted biosolids product. Through this composting program, biosolids will be used locally instead of being hauled to distant farmlands, thereby reducing the agency’s carbon footprint and providing the opportunity to distribute a product that is more economically and environmentally beneficial. The composting program has sparked an entirely new enterprise from which to grow and expand, generate revenue, and ultimately protect the environment.

In addition to being used for healthy lawns and landscaping purposes, the compost is safe for use in growing food crops. In 2016, the MWRD partnered with ChicaGRO Intergenerational Growing Project to help convert more than 70 vacant Chicago neighborhood lots into backyard community gardens that use the compost in planting beds and growing vegetables. Brownfields that have languished for years are also finding new life through MWRD composted biosolids; the 87-acre Lake Calumet Cluster Site, home to five former U.S. steel plants along Lake Michigan on the Southeast Side of Chicago, is being restored from rocky terrain to a green space that will one day be a stop for migratory birds. At the MWRD’s Hanover Park Water Reclamation Plant, workers are developing a tree nursery that will flourish with the use of the composted biosolids. In addition, the MWRD has distributed more than 25,000 oak tree saplings as part of a new initiative called Restore the Canopy, Plant a Tree. The program, implemented in April 2016, educates the region about the importance of the tree population that has been decimated in recent years, as well as the lasting benefits that trees provide in managing stormwater. Each tree sapling is distributed in the compost blend.

Goals For Biosolids Composting Program
In 2016, the first year of the composting program, the MWRD met an internal goal of producing 10,000 tons of composted biosolids. In 2017, the goal is to produce and sell 50,000 tons, and in 2018, the goal is to sell 100,000 tons. At this time, the plan is to charge $30 per cubic yard, and recipients must complete a short application.

Partnership With The City of Chicago
In 2013, before implementation of the Resource Recovery Ordinance, the MWRD partnered with the City of Chicago to share tens of thousands of cubic yards of wood chips as a bulking agent for composting MWRD biosolids; the wood chips derive from 13 million ash trees lost in the city due to the emerald ash borer devastation. Because the mixing ratio is 3:1 wood chips to biosolids, the compost blend requires a steady flow of wood chips, yard waste, and other feedstock. The compost has a greater range of uses than either resource alone and helps reduce the city’s landscaping costs.

Biosolids Composting Operations Process
The biosolids composting operations are located at the MWRD’s Harlem Avenue Solids Management Area (HASMA) in Lyons, IL, and Calumet Solids Management Area (CALSMA) on Chicago’s south side. The composting process raises the temperature of the biosolids and wood chip mixture, killing off pathogens and meeting the USEPA Part 503 regulations for Class A biosolids pathogen reduction. The windrows are turned five times over 23 days, and the temperature is maintained at 55 degrees Celsius. Following the composting process, the product is left in open windrows for curing to complete the stabilization process. The final product is screened to remove large pieces of wood chips before distribution.

Yard Waste Collection Efforts
Finding feedstock to create the compost has become a priority for the MWRD. There is not an endless supply of wood chips or trees so the new Resource Recovery Ordinance helps bridge that gap. The ordinance allows the MWRD to develop a program to collect wood chips and yard waste to blend in the compost process. To recover costs, the MWRD will charge a tipping fee of $20 per cubic ton to receive feedstock and create a new revenue stream through the sale of composted biosolids.

Serving a large area means there is a wide base from which to search for this feedstock. The MWRD is reaching out to area landscaping contractors and tree-trimming companies, waste haulers, utility companies that trim trees, area paper mills, municipalities, and park districts. The MWRD is also installing a composting facility, which requires less energy than heat drying, at CALSMA. The composting facility will be a covered positive aeration system and will have the capacity to process 25,000 dry tons of biosolids per year. The process will require a 1:3 biosolids to feedstock mix ratio by volume and one temperature probe per pile, and necessary equipment includes mixers, loaders, and screeners.

Additional market analysis will be performed to determine demand and potential revenue from the sale of the finished product, which is proving to meet the MWRD’s strategic goals in producing a Class A material, reducing and eliminating odors during solids management procedures, reducing transportation, creating readily available end-use products independent of weather variation, reducing operational land requirement and carbon footprints, increasing solids distribution within Cook County, and ensuring financial and environmental sustainability with a potential revenue stream. The goal is to achieve 70 percent local utilization by 2017 and 100 percent by 2018.

The future for generating income for the taxpayers of Cook County through biosolids composting is bright. More information about MWRD biosolids and composted biosolids is available by calling (708) 588-4201.
https://www.wateronline.com/doc/evolving-from-controlled-biosolids-distribution-to-revenue-generating-compost-0001