The Village of Stockton, Illinois, was faced with significant permit compliance issues at its wastewater treatment plant stemming from a wide variety of issues. The facility was first constructed in 1956, and while upgraded as recently as 2000, was operating at or beyond its design loadings. The Illinois EPA had classified the plant’s receiving stream as impaired, making discharge parameters much stricter. The wastewater facility was also situated such that flooding occurred on a regular basis. Topping things off, the facility accepts waste from a local cheese manufacturing plant that had been inspected by the U.S. EPA due to numerous discharge issues that impacted the Village of Stockton’s wastewater treatment plant. A resolution was in order.
MSA worked with the Village of Stockton and the U.S. EPA to develop a rigorous industrial user program to address operational issues. However, even with these improvements to oversight, it was determined that greater improvements were required at the wastewater treatment plant. After evaluating multiple potential alternatives to address the issues, the Village of Stockton chose to proceed with the construction of new equalization lagoons, new screening and grit removal systems, a second oxidation ditch, an additional digester and clarifier, UV disinfection, a sludge press, a sludge storage building and an offline tank to store and handle potential illicit discharges from impacting the wastewater process. The project also includes construction of a new floodwall to prevent the site from potential flooding.
Phases one and two of this multi-phase project are currently underway, with construction anticipated to be complete in 2024.