Treatment Plant Safeguards

Protecting Water Quality

The Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District plays an active role in the natural water cycle. We constantly evaluate samples of the water being discharged from our plant to ensure its quality, and we report monthly to the Illinois EPA, the guardian of water quality standards for the state of Illinois.

Removing Harmful Substances

KWRD monitors the quality of the water that comes to us from residential, commercial, and industrial users. We regulate what can be placed in the wastewater collection system. We clean and purify the wastewater that comes to us to a quality that makes it safe to use again.

Some of the dangerous substances we remove from wastewater include:

• Debris such as plastic, wood, paper, and metal
• Fats, oils, and grease
• Suspended solids from human waste and other sources
• Substances like phosphorus, nitrogen, and ammonia, which deplete the oxygen in receiving waters
• Heavy metals
• Chemicals such as pesticides and industrial solvents
• Disease-causing microorganisms

Careful Monitoring

Purifying wastewater into components that can be safely used again requires intensive monitoring by professionals using specialized equipment.

Facility Monitoring

Our data acquisition system monitors 400 data points across the treatment plant and lift stations. Operators monitor what is happening at each phase of the treatment process, from the headworks to discharge. More than 130 alarms are ready to warn the operator of problems in the plant or the collection system.

Operators don't spend all their time behind a screen. They also walk through the plant and inspect the collection system on every shift to ensure everything is working safely and effectively.

Laboratory Monitoring

Laboratory staff keep daily reports measuring the total flow of wastewater through the plant, the biological oxygen demand, the total amount of suspended solids, the levels of ammonia, phosphorus and nitrogen, the pH level, the temperature, and the amounts of specific substances we monitor both in the plant and in the river. These measurements are reported to the Illinois EPA once a month.

In addition, the lab files quarterly reports on levels of 30 more substances it checks for in the wastewater coming into the plant, the treated water flowing out of the plant, and the sludge created by the treatment process. Once a year, the District reports measurements on more than 100 pollutants regulated by the US EPA.