Streator to use $1 million in sewer reserves to fund oxidation ditch project

The city of Streator will use $1 million from its sewer reserve funds to make up a funding gap on an oxidation ditch project at the wastewater treatment plant.

Originally estimated to be about a $2 million project, the lowest bid for the project was $3,149,815. Despite securing a federal grant of $1.2 million earmarked for the project and budgeting $800,000, Streator faced a funding gap to cover the increase in equipment and labor expenses that drove up the cost of the project.

This decision comes after more than a month of deliberation over the financing of the project.

The council also considered rejecting the bid and pursuing a low-interest loan in 2025 from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. The city may have qualified for one-third forgiveness on the loan’s principal.

A majority of the council believed the project should be funded and completed as soon as possible without putting the city in loan debt.

Mayor Tara Bedei, the only vote against spending the reserves for the project, said the decision will necessitate cutting other sewer projects and reduce the city’s capacity in responding to emergency sewer repairs.

After using $500,000 from the city’s sewer depreciation fund in 2024 and 2025, City Engineer Jeremy Palm has said the city will eliminate a small-scale sewer maintenance project in 2025, which involved the cleaning and lining of sewers. Additionally, the Coal Run Creek/Unsewered Area Project from 2025 to 2027 will be reduced in scope, and wastewater treatment plan projects will be reduced in scope until 2029.

As for next steps, Bedei said Streator will refund money into the reserves over a period of the next five years and expects the update on the oxidation ditch to happen this upcoming spring.

Oxidation ditches are a biological wastewater treatment process that use long solids retention times to remove biodegradable organics from sewage. The motors and electrical equipment in Streator’s oxidation ditch are the originals from 1992, Palm said. The motors and equipment have been well maintained, but the update would install energy-efficient items that could reduce the energy consumption of the plant.