Upgrades to Monticello Wastewater Treatment Plant welcomed
MONTICELLO, ILLINOIS
New watershed and statewide nutrient regulations prompted the City of Monticello, Illinois, to update its Wastewater Treatment Plant. The aging infrastructure had also failed, making service unreliable.
The City began a project in 2011 to convert the plant into a Biological Nutrient Removal operation using an oxidation ditch with additional anaerobic tanks and recycles. To do this, nearly every component in the plant needed to be updated or replaced. The City hired Fehr Graham to unite previous planning efforts, analyze multiple process and solids treatment options, and select the most cost-effective solution.
Fehr Graham also helped the City secure financing from a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) loan, determine revenue requirements to build, own and operate the system, and formulate an equitable rate structure that secured the necessary revenue.
When determining the rate structure, our team had to make sure it would not differ much from the previous system. The City limits the user charge during the summer to the average usage during winter. This is done to account for water usage that does not enter the sanitary sewer. Our team worked with City officials to ensure this option was still viable.
Facility planning efforts, including Fehr Graham's analysis and report, were finished in May 2014. We completed the design in 2016. Construction began a year later and was completed in October 2020. The improvements will help the treatment plant serve the community for many more years.
When determining the rate structure, our team had to make sure it would not differ much from the previous system. The City limits the user charge during the summer to the average usage during winter. This is done to account for water usage that does not enter the sanitary sewer. Our team worked with City officials to ensure this option was still viable.
Facility planning efforts, including Fehr Graham's analysis and report, were finished in May 2014. We completed the design in 2016. Construction began a year later and was completed in October 2020. The improvements will help the treatment plant serve the community for many more years.
PERIOD OF SERVICES
May 2012 to October 2020
CONTRACT VALUE
$1,260,000
CONSTRUCTION COST
$14,000,000
FUNDING
USDA Loan
AT A GLANCE
» Analyzed and selected cost-effective solutions to treatment needs.
» Prepared Preliminary Engineering Report.
» Consolidated planning.
» Designed site.
» Helped secure funding.