- Improved wastewater treatment using membrane filters
For nearly ten years, Prairie Rivers Network has been working on strengthening our state’s antidegradation law. This law was designed to prevent degradation of clean waters through the promotion of new and innovative water pollution reduction technologies. Prairie Rivers Network was involved in the passing of the law in 2002, and since that time has been helping Illinois communities develop creative solutions to keep pollution out of their waterways.
One form of assistance we offer is education. Prairie Rivers Network has developed several tools for the lay person and the professional. Our guidebooks are accessible to all, with illustrations, examples, and simple explanations of technologies for reducing pollution from sewage treatment plants and polluted runoff from cities. For professionals, we developed a technical document that provides vital information on state-of-the-art sewage treatment methods. {Continue Reading »}
- MWRD of Greater Chicago is allowing untreated sewage to flow into the Chicago River.
As reported previously in our press release and covered by the New York Times:
Prairie Rivers Network has joined with the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club in notifying the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) that it intends to sue the District for illegally dumping pollution into Chicago area waters. Because the District is so big (its sewage treatment plants release billions of gallons of wastewater every day), the pollution is fouling waterways all the way from Chicago to the Gulf of Mexico.
The notification of intent to sue is the first formal step toward a lawsuit in federal court. Prairie Rivers Network and its partners are threatening a lawsuit because MWRD has steadfastly refused to remove phosphorus to safe levels. Too much phosphorus can be deadly to fish because it triggers the unnatural growth of algae. Algae then suck the oxygen out of the water, depriving fish and other life of the ability to breathe. Phosphorus from MWRD is helping cause the Dead Zone, a huge area in the Gulf of Mexico where fish and other forms of life cannot survive, because there’s not enough oxygen. Prairie Rivers Network is demanding that MWRD remove phosphorus to make the waters safe. {Continue Reading »}
The New York Times is reporting on our recent notice of intent to sue the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago for violations of the Clean Water Act. Read the full NYT article here.
Prairie Rivers Network is Helping Sewage Treatment Facilities Achieve Cleaner Water with New Report
- Improved wastewater treatment using membrane filters
Antidegradation Alternatives for Municipal Sewage Treatment is a technical report that compiles operational, cost, design, and performance data for various sewage treatment technologies including both conventional and state-of-the-art methods. The report was designed to assist advocates in determining the pollutant reduction capabilities of the various treatment methods and the economic feasibility of implementing these methods.
The report consists of three parts:
- The first part is a more detailed narrative that describes the sewage treatment alternatives, typical applications and achievable effluent characteristics.
- The second part is a matrix that provides: effluent characteristics for ammonia nitrogen; total nitrogen; nitrate; Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD); Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and phosphorus for each alternative. The matrix contains estimated capital and operation & maintenance costs, limitations and benefits, and locations where the treatment method has been utilized.
- The third part is an effluent table that provides a quick glimpse of achievable effluent characteristics for each treatment technology.
Download entire report here.
This report was prepared for the Mississippi River Collaborative (funded by the McKnight Foundation) and prepared by Applied Ecological Services, Inc., with support from the Environmental Consulting & Technology, Inc., Natural Water Solutions, and Prairie Rivers Network.
Prairie Rivers Network and the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club present their new guidebook on Practicing Antidegradation in Illinois, a practical guide to implementing antidegradation at sewage treatment plants.
Antidegradation is a law designed to limit the amount of new pollution released into our waterways. The guidebook presents a brief overview of the law and then describes various methods for controlling pollution.
Case studies describe innovative ways four Illinois communities followed the law and protected their rivers and streams.
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) is proposing to permit One Earth Energy, a new ethanol plant, to discharge wastewater into Drummer Creek, a biologically significant stream in Ford County. A public hearing will be held on March 16th in Gibson City.
Attend the hearing. Protect clean water.
This permit does not ensure that the water quality of the receiving stream, Drummer Creek, will not degrade further as a result of One Earth Energy’s proposed discharges.
IEPA One Earth Engergy NPDES Public Hearing Notice (pdf)
PRN One Earth Energy Public Hearing Informational flyer (pdf)
