SPRINGFIELD – Financing for a $30 million Wet Weather Treatment Facility at the Lemont Water Reclamation Plant was announced Feb. 11 said State Sen. Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) in a press release issue Monday. The loan, she said, will help improve storm water management at the facility.
“After the numerous devastating storm systems that swept through suburban Illinois in recent years, many local residents can tell you first-hand just how important updated water infrastructure and drainage can be,” Radogno said. “Flood situations, especially flash-floods, can be extremely dangerous, not to mention destructive. A Wet Weather Treatment Facility will help the Lemont plant to better manage storm water, and reduce the destruction caused by future strong weather systems in our region.”
Radogno noted the Lemont Water Reclamation Plant is the smallest of the seven plants operated by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD), and is located on the canal just east of downtown Lemont.
The Illinois Clean Water Initiative (ICWI) financed the projects, which are expected to lead to 2,000 good-paying construction jobs and create 8,000 jobs in area communities. The $30 million loan was one of $250 million in low-interest loans to the MWRD, which the Governor’s office says will be used to improve the region’s wastewater treatment facilities and infrastructure.
According to the Governor’s office, Illinois’ Clean Water Initiative does not rely on new state tax dollars, and is financed through annual federal grants, funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and additional principal and interest from loan repayments.
