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Waste
Water Reclamation Plant One | Description |
The original plant was built in 1960 and was designed
to serve 2,500 people. Prior to that time, homes used
small septic tanks which only removed a portion of the
waste. The plant is located near Hickory Creek by the
Cedar Road crossing. This plant has undergone numerous
expansions and modifications over the years both to
serve a growing population and to meet more stringent
discharge standards. The current plant can now serve
ten times as many people as the original or roughly
25,000 people.
The State of Illinois regulates the operation of the
plant through a stringent permit process. New Lenox
has some of the most restrictive effluent standards
of any plant in the State of Illinois, due to the size
and characteristics of Hickory Creek. This is one the
most pristine waterways in the Chicagoland area and
complying with these standards will ensure it stays
the same for future generations.
The Treatment plant is a complex series of physical,
chemical, and biological processes designed to clean
the water prior to discharge into Hickory Creek. Solids
which are removed from the water during the processes
are refined into a crop nutrient which is applied to
local farm fields.Essentially our plant is a clean water
factory and a fertilizer factory.
As wastewater treatment profesionals we have two major
priorities.Our first is to handle all the water that
enters the facility so that it does not back up into
homes no matter how much it rains. Our second is to
produce good quality, safe effluent and biosolids for
use as a crop nutrient.
Water that leaves homes and businesses throughout
the central section of New Lenox travels through underground
pipes to treatment plant one. Please click the links
below to take a tour of this plant from the beginning
to the end.
Stardard Treatment under Normal Circumstances
- Physical Treatment
- Biological Treatment
- Physical Treatment
- Chemical Treatment
Solids Handling
The solids are removed either from the primary clarifiers
or the secondary clarifiers. The solids are sent to another
section of the plant for processing...
Excess Flow Treatment
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