Sandwich City Council OKs $13.5 million in wastewater plant upgrades to conform with IEPA mandate

The City of Sandwich recently awarded a construction contract to Vissering Construction Company of Streator for wastewater treatment plant improvements in the amount of $13,595,160.

The bid was approved unanimously by City Council members at a regular meeting March 20 at City Hall.

The improvement project has been in discussion for several years as the city is facing a Illinois Environmental Protection Agency mandate to reduce phosphorous discharge from the plant into Harvey Creek to 1.0 milligrams per liter.

The city must comply with the mandated discharge levels by Dec. 1, 2024, which was extended last year by the IEPA from March, 2023. The city will be required to reduce phosphorous discharge levels to .5 milligrams per liter by 2030.

City Council members were given six bid options to consider, all of which included the same base scope of work with various combinations of additional improvements.

The base scope of work will cost $10,275,000 and will include the replacement of four raw sewage pumps, new filters and chemical feed system, aerobic digesters, SCADA system hardware and software improvements, and improved electrical infrastructure.

The options approved by the council also includes a standby electrical generator at a cost of $750,000, four new aerators at a cost of $940,000, $780,160 in engineering costs and $850,000 in construction for a total of $13,595,160.

The city will finance the project through a $14,003,015 loan from the IEPA that includes a 3% contingency. The city will pay $709,603 in annual bond payments.

The plant was built in 2000 and can treat up to 1.5 million gallons of wastewater per day.