Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District
A History of Commitment to People and the Environment
A Brief Overview of the Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District
What and Where is the Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District?
The Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District is a Sanitary District located in DeKalb, Illinois. Similar to a School District, Library District or Park District, a Sanitary District is an administrative and political unit of government. Sanitary Districts treat wastewater that is generated by private citizens, commercial businesses, and industrial entities. In doing so, the Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District ensures that any and all water used within our service area is treated and sanitized before reaching the Kishwaukee River.
Any water that goes down a drain within our service area enters into our collection system. This water is then conveyed through the collection system to our wastewater treatment plant and treated through a variety of processes to remove pathogens, organic compounds, solids, and other potentially hazardous materials from wastewater. The treated wastewater is then discharged into the Kishwaukee River as clean effluent.
A Unique Government Entity
The Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District is a unique government entity. The Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District is an administrative and political unit of government that, as a Sanitary District, is separate from the state, city or town within which it resides. So, the Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District is independent from the City of DeKalb government, even though the District treats sanitary waste from the City. This unique situation allows the District to expand its service area to other entities and communities near DeKalb, such as Northern Illinois University.
Furthermore, the District is now focusing on becoming a regional wastewater authority. This means that the District is expanding its collection system to encompass a wider area, thus treating the wastewater from communities that neighbor DeKalb. In doing so, this will allow a wider range of customers to be served by the District, and will also reduce the amount of superfluous, smaller satellite wastewater treatment plants in the region.
History of the Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District
Going Back Almost 100 Years
The first sewer system was constructed in the City of DeKalb in 1908, with a small expansion in 1914. With growing concerns over the condition of local waterways, and due to the Sanitary District Act of 1917, residents began discussing how to better treat the sewage effluent created by the City. In response to this, the DeKalb Sanitary District was incorporated in 1928 in efforts to improve the sewer effluent discharged into the Kishwaukee River.
After being incorporated, the DeKalb Sanitary District wastewater treatment plant was constructed in 1929. This treatment plant consisted of a mechanical bar screen and grit basins, primary and secondary settling tanks, dosing tanks, sprinkling filter beds, a sludge digestion tank, sludge storage/conditioning tanks, and sludge drying beds. Though modern at the time, the plant capacity was only 1.8 MGD, with peak flow capacity being 4.2 MGD (the current treatment plant is able to handle daily flows of 8.6 MGD, with peak flow capacity of 24 MGD).
The previous official logo used by the DeKalb Sanitary District.
A Long Tradition of Devoted Leadership
As a government entity, the Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District is required to be governed by a Board of Trustees, which consists of a President, a Vice President and a Clerk. These trustees are appointed by the County Board and are responsible for ensuring that the District sustains fiscal responsibility, operates within the charters of the Illinois Constitution, and maintains its mission to protect people and the environment. The first Board of Trustees was appointed in August 1928 and its members have changed as follows:
- Charles A. Anderson: President from 1928-1930
- Fred S. Simms: Vice President from 1928-1930; President from 1930-1943
- S. M. Hunt: Clerk from 1928-1940
- Mark Biehl: Vice President from 1930-1940; Clerk from 1940-1943
- Gus Anderson: Vice President from 1940-1943; Clerk through the end of 1943; President from 1943-1950
- Lotan B. Struthers, Jr: Vice President through 1943; Clerk from 1943-1949
- Ben L. Davey: Vice President from 1944-1950; President from 1950-1952; Vice President from 1952-1955; Clerk from 1955-1958
- Carl A. Lothson: Clerk from 1949-1955
- Philmore Iskowich: Vice President from 1950-1952; President from 1952-1984
- Ralph D. Irving: Vice President from 1955-1958; Clerk from 1958-1961
- Giles L. Findley: Vice President from 1958-1961; Clerk from 1961-1968
- Henry M. Meier: Vice President from 1961-1968; Clerk from 1968-1984; President from 1984-1987
- Ralph McAllister: Vice President from 1968-1974
- Charles Iskowich: President from 1987-1992
- John Hiatt: Vice President from 1974-1992; President from 1992-1999
- Larry Beaty: Clerk from 1984-1992; Vice President from 1992-1998
- Jim Kunkel: Clerk from 1992-1995
- Dennis Collins, D.D.S.: Clerk from 1995-1998; Vice President from 1998-1999; President from 1999-Present
- Bill Niklas: Clerk from 1998-1999
- Timothy Struthers: Clerk from 1999-2000; Vice President from 2000-Present
- Ron Naylor: Clerk from 2000-2002
- William Monat: Clerk from 2002-2005
- Carol Zar: Clerk from 2005-2020
- Dawn Cosentino: Clerk from 2020-Present
Adapting to New Regulations
In 1972, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was formed in efforts to address the rampant water and air pollution issues that had been facing the nation for decades. The EPA began issuing permits to regulate the pollutants that comprise sanitary sewer effluent to reduce the amount of hazardous chemicals and compounds that are discharged into the nations waterways. One way the EPA enforces these regulations is by issuing permits to wastewater authorities.
As a result of these developments, the DeKalb Sanitary District was deemed a publicly-owned treatment works and was issued NPDES (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System) Permit Number #IL0023027. This permit regulates the amount of various chemicals and organic compounds comprising wastewater by setting limits on how much is legally allowed to be discharged by the District as effluent. As time has continued into the present, the regulatory requirements set by the EPA have also changed and become more stringent.
The IEPA is the regulatory authority that sets standards and limits for wastewater treatment in Illinois.
Committed to Providing Safe and Proper Service
The Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District has engaged in a variety of treatment plant improvement and expansion projects throughout its long history. Many of these upgrades have been conducted to enhance the treatment plant's capacity for treating high volumes of wastewater, especially during storm events. However, the District has also engaged in these projects to improve the effluent that is discharged into the Kishwaukee River by recovering excess nutrients like nitrogen that can cause damage to aquatic ecosystems. The following is a timeline of some of these past projects:
- 1954: Upgrade to treatment plant and sewers (added new primary clarifier, new final clarifier, and anaerobic digester; remodeled trickling filters)
- 1967: Upgrade to treatment plant and sewers (added another digester, new final clarifiers and chlorine tanks, and remodeled old tanks)
- 1977: Primary and intermediate clarifiers were remodeled
- 1980: Construction of Advanced Secondary Treatment using RBC bio-discs for ammonia removal and Tertiary filtration
- 1984: Construction of excess flow treatment processes using primary settling, rapid sand filtration, and disinfection
- 1987: District takes over ownership of sanitary collection system for City of DeKalb (descried in detail below)
- 1997: Upgrade to treatment plant (added single stage activated sludge nitrification process, new headworks including screening, grit removal, flow measuring and raw sewage pumping)
- 1999: Construction of Sodium Hypochlorite disinfection facilities
Taking Over City Sewers
In 1987, the Sanitary District made a landmark agreement with the City of DeKalb. The agreement transferred ownership of all City of DeKalb sanitary sewer mains and manholes to the DeKalb Sanitary District. Through this agreement, the Sanitary District also took control of the sanitary mains under city streets that run through the Northern Illinois University campus. This preexisting City collection system comprised around 130 miles of sanitary sewer mains and manholes throughout DeKalb, the average age of which is around fifty years old.
Therefore, the Sanitary District now constructs, repairs and maintains that entire sanitary infrastructure in addition to operating the treatment plant. These repairs and maintenance activities include:
- Repairing and replacing old public sanitary sewer mains
- Ensuring new sewer connections are completed properly
- Helping homeowners find and correct illegal installations
- Educating the public on the importance of avoiding illegal connections and on what not to flush down drains
- Working with the City of DeKalb to restore storm system integrity
- Performing Sewer System Evaluation Surveys (SSES)
Changing with the Times: Reorganization
Reorganizing for Better Water Stewardship
Throughout its long history, the District has continued to improve and expand to meet the needs of the growing DeKalb community and increasingly stringent environmental regulations. These strict regulatory requirements are demanded of smaller communities, in addition to larger ones like DeKalb, that may not be able to afford upgrading and continuing to operate their existing treatment plants. Therefore, the DeKalb Sanitary District was reorganized into the Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District (KWRD) in 2016. As a Reclamation District that has engaged in plant improvements, KWRD is able to treat sanitary sewage from small nearby communities and thus spread the economic costs across a larger area.
The official logo of the reorganized Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District.
A Major Step Forward: Phase 1A
Though the District has engaged in many treatment plant upgrades throughout its history, substantial improvements and changes have been made to the treatment plant in the last decade. The first of these major improvements, Phase 1A - Biosolids Rehabilitation, was conducted between 2009 and 2012.
Phase 1A Details
The Phase 1A treatment plant improvements enhanced the District's ability to treat and handle biosolids, also known as sludge. Biosolids are the solid organic materials that are settled out of the treated wastewater. These materials go through a process called anaerobic digestion, which turns the sludge into usable biomass.
Ongoing Plant Improvements: Welcome to Phase 1B
With Phase 1A having been completed in 2011, the District was able to significantly improve its ability to handle and process biosolids. However, there were still EPA regulatory requirements, namely the treatment and removal of various chemicals and compounds such as phosphorus, that required further improvements. In efforts to prepare for these regulations, and to allow for the future expansion of the District's customer base, the District planned the next phase of treatment plant improvements.
The disclaimer sign for the Phase 1B Improvements project is located alongside Sycamore Road within public view.
Phase 1B Details
Construction for the Phase 1B Improvements project began in August of 2017 with contractor Williams Brothers Construction, Inc. from Peoria, IL. Project costs are being financed by a low-interest loan from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF), which is being administered by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
This project is intended to replace many aging wastewater treatment systems to be more efficient and energy-conscious, allow the District to better handle major wet-weather events, and improve the processing of excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus that pose problems to aquatic ecosystems. The Phase 1B project also allows the District to prepare for and properly treat wastewater resulting from increasing population, expansion of its service area, and the development of major industry clusters in the DeKalb region.
This table shows additional information regarding the benefits of the Phase 1B Improvements project.
Engaging in Environmental Sustainability
A Mission to Reduce Our Impact
Though reducing our environmental impact has been a goal throughout the many plant improvements and expansions throughout the years, the District has made significant efforts towards becoming an environmentally sustainable organization in the last decade. With the plant upgrades involved in the Phase 1B Improvements, the District hopes to become energy neutral by 2030. The following slideshow illustrates just a few of the steps the District has taken to reduce our carbon footprint (press the arrow buttons at each side of the slideshow to change slides).
01 / 05
Moving Towards Land Stewardship
A Mission to Bring Back the Monarchs
In the Summer of 2017, the KWRD Board of Trustees voiced interest in pollinator conservation. This entailed converting a portion of the District's owned property from mowed lawn to native wildflower prairie. In response, the District began converting around 4.5 acres of turf grass into pollinator habitat in the Fall of 2017. Now in their third growing season, these pollinator habitat sites have been successfully established and are requiring only minimal maintenance. The District plans to incorporate more native habitat into the landscaping plan for the expanded treatment plant.
01 / 07
1
Sustainable Land Management
As a Water Reclamation District, the goal of KWRD is to protect public health and the environment through management of our collection system. To improve our ability to focus solely on treating wastewater, reducing the time devoted to grounds-keeping has become of major interest to the District. To achieve this goal, the District has engaged in native habitat restoration.
2
Post-Herbicide Treatment
To effectively prepare these sites for native habitat restoration, herbicide was applied to kill off the preexisting vegetation. The areas that were chosen for restoration consisted of turf grass, which only required a single herbicide treatment.
3
Signage
Installing a native habitat within easy view of the public (in this case, along Sycamore Road) is a great way to raise awareness about native habitat restoration and foster engagement with the community. The District created signage for the native habitats for alerting the public to avoid damaging or interfering with the prairie's development, as well as informing them about the purpose of returning land to native habitat.
4
Reducing Maintenance Costs
According to the University of Vermont, maintenance on one acre of mowed lawn consumes the following average amounts of gasoline each year:
- 15 gallons of gas for mowing and trimming
- Roughly 21 gallons for fertilizing
- 15 gallons for watering equipment
- Additional 3 gallons for cleanup
Required inputs are significantly reduced for the long-term management of prairies, which only require hand-weeding, consistent supervision and occasional mowing.
5
Hill Prairies Reduce Runoff
Nutrient and water runoff can be harmful for natural habitats and wildlife, and can impact water quality for residents. Since mowed lawns have shallow roots, they do not capture artificial inputs like fertilizers and herbicides that may be applied to lawns. Soil erosion is also a major issue connected to the shallow roots of turf grass and poor land management. As a Water Reclamation District, it is our goal to reduce runoff and harmful inputs to protect water quality for residents and the environment. Restoration of hilly areas helps to reduce this runoff issue.
6
Combating Climate Change
Installing native habitats and reducing gasoline consumption has positive impacts for climate. The deep root systems of prairie plants not only help conserve soil and reduce runoff by retaining water and nutrients, but also help to keep more carbon in the soil as opposed to escaping into the atmosphere. Furthermore, gasoline consumption contributes to air pollution and climate change, as the emissions created by consuming gasoline produce hydrocarbons that add to greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. By reducing necessary maintenance, KWRD gasoline consumption has also been reduced for site management.
7
Positive Community Impact
In addition to the environmental benefits of restoring native habitat, there are obvious aesthetic benefits. Placing native habitats and landscapes in close proximity to recreation and hiking trails can provide a more interesting backdrops to many peoples' daily routines.
What the Future Holds for KWRD
Continuing the Trend of Habitat Restoration
The three aforementioned native pollinator habitats have now been successfully established and will continue to serve as a resource for pollinators and wildlife, as well as to provide aesthetic benefits to DeKalb residents. In light of the success of these three sites, and the positive responses from the KWRD Board of Trustees and the public, the District has plans to restore more native habitats across the Treatment Plant property. As the construction for the Phase 1B Plant Improvements comes to a close, many open areas of the KWRD treatment plant have been seeded with native prairie mixes instead of turf grass.
Moving forward, the management required to maintain these prairie sites will continue to reduce significantly.
Forming Intergovernmental Partnerships: "The KWRD and DeKalb Park District 2020 Native Habitats Project"
In 2019, the DeKalb Park District informed KWRD of their desire to convert open areas of Park District property to native habitats. Further discussion between the two organizations led to the determination that a cooperative partnership could allow for the economical implementation of these projects by drawing on the strengths and experiences of the two groups. KWRD applied for a ComEd/Openlands Green Region grant to assist in executing the project, which the two entities were approved for and awarded in July 2020.
The "KWRD and DeKalb Park District 2020 Native Habitats" project’s goal is to restore 22 acres of turf grass and naturalized landscapes to native pollinator habitat. Sections of Hopkins Park, Rotary Park, and the KWRD water reclamation facility will be converted to native habitat in an effort to provide environments for important pollinators (butterflies and bees) and reduce landscape maintenance costs. The project also seeks to provide public educational opportunities on the importance of pollinator conservation and stormwater management.
Project disclaimer signs that give information about the project and will be used to inform the public. These signs were designed by the DeKalb Park District.
