Naperville water rates look ready to jump come January as the city gears ups to meet new state filtration standards for waste water dumped into the DuPage River.
But city officials expressed frustration that they don’t know exactly what the new standards will require, so they don’t know how much improving the plant might cost; how much time they have to get new water cleaning equipment in place; and if Naperville might qualify for grants or other funding to help pay for it.
Officials said all of these things the city council must learn before members decide how much residents’ rates will rise.
Meanwhile, city staff recommended new water rates — whatever they are — kick in Jan. 1, according to a recent memo.
Naperville’s residential water bills average $87 per month, city officials said.
“The potential for a wastewater increase is very high,” said Mayor Steve Chirico, who estimated the upgrades at Springbrook Water Reclamation Center could cost anywhere from $10 million to $80 million.
Springbrook is a 135-acre water treatment plant that serves Naperville and Warrenville. It sits on Plainfield-Naperville Road south and west of 95th Street.
Too much algae suffocates fish
The new requirements come after Naperville’s permit expired last year to release treated wastewater into the DuPage River. The permit, issued by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, is necessary for the plant to operate. A draft permit requiring Naperville remove almost all phosphorus from the water already has been issued, said Sanjay Sofat, manager with the water pollution control division of the Illinois EPA. A final permit is expected later this year.
Sewage and fertilizer typically contain high levels of phosphorus, a naturally-occurring element that at high levels promotes excessive algae growth in watersheds. That algae consumes oxygen in the water and essentially suffocates the fish, mussels and other aquatic life that depend on it, experts said.
On a smaller scale, fluctuating oxygen levels created by algae growth can stress out river critters and trigger fish kills. On a larger scale, phosphorus-laden water from dozens of states feeds into the Mississippi River and contributes to a “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, where fish and other sea creatures can’t survive because the algae level is so high, experts said.
Before 2011, Illinois municipalities were not required to remove phosphorus from waste water before dumping it, Sofat said. But the federal EPA that year sent Illinois a letter of noncompliance and asked the state to start addressing the problem. Since then, those applying for discharge permits now run into phosphorus treatment as a criteria for approval.
“There should not be any unnatural growth of algae,” Sofat said.
He did not share a timeline for when Naperville must meet the new standard, but said it could be within 7 or 9 years, depending on circumstances.
Along with Illinois, Wisconsin and other states are working on similar phosphorus restrictions under order of the federal EPA, Sofat said.
‘It’s not going to get any better’
Still, councilwoman Patty Gustin expressed frustration that the city does not know what it will be asked to do and when, especially when the price tag appears to be so high.
“There are so many moving parts and there’s so much information we don’t have firmed up,” said Gustin, who reiterated the council’s goal to shore up Naperville’s reserves and cut debt.
“If it’s that important, why is there not national funding for this?” Gustin asked.
Naperville is not the first community dealing with the new phosphorus requirements.
In the Fox Valley watershed, Fox Metro Water Reclamation District took out a $92 million revolving loan last year from the state to pay for its new wastewater treatment plant in Montgomery, according to The Beacon-News. That plant will serve 300,000 residents in Aurora, Oswego, Montgomery, North Aurora, Sugar Grove, and portions of Batavia and Yorkville.
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User fees are expected to rise $16.50 per household per year.
Despite the financial burden, Fran Caffee of Aurora, coordinator of the national Sierra Club’s Water Sentinels program, said the growing phosphorus pollution problem needs to be addressed.
“It’s got to be dealt with. It’s not going to get any better,” Caffee said. “It’s going to cost money, but those things do.”
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