An aerial view of the Danville wastewater facility | Senator Scott M. Bennet's website
An aerial view of the Danville wastewater facility | Senator Scott M. Bennet's website
Three Illinois public wastewater treatment plants received Illinois Environmental Protection Agency grants for upgrades for energy efficiency.
“Investing in our aging water infrastructure benefits both public health and the environment,” Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) said. “This funding is a significant stride toward helping our communities become more eco-friendly by producing suitable water for residents.”
The Commercial News reported the Danville Sanitary District (DSD) in Vermilion county, the Village of New Baden in Clinton county and the city of Vandalia in Fayette county garnered the funding.
According to WCIA, the Danville project received $260,000.
Illinois EPA ranked grant applications on energy savings per dollar funded, energy cost impact, energy rate paid by the applicant facility, and energy cost to treat one million gallons of wastewater at the facility. The ranking also prioritized those facilities in areas of environmental justice concern.
The Commercial News also reported DSD is expected to be working on the effort into 2035.
“We’re very pleased with how things are progressing,” Danville Sanitary District Doug Ahrens said to Commercial-News.
This project is part of the second stage of the Danville Sanitary District's 2035 capital plan.
About the funding, Ahrens said:
“We had applied for this. One of the critical elements for our wastewater treatment plant is keeping enough air in what’s called our aeration tanks, which is how the microbes, the bugs that clean out the water, function.”
WCIA reported the funding came from the Office of Energy’s Efficiency at Public Water Infrastructure Program from the EPA.
“The Energy Efficiency at Public Water Infrastructure Program brings together energy and environmental benefits,” Illinois EPA Director John Kim said to Commercial News. “These upgrades will significantly reduce energy waste while optimizing the water treatment process.”
According to Senator Bennett’s website, the work that this funding will be used for will “save the facility 1,834,893 kWhs of energy annually.”
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