UCSD considering water sale to fertilizer plant & coal mine
The Urbana Champaign Sanitary District (UCSD) is considering selling large amounts of water from its Urbana and Champaign sewage treatment plants to Cronus Chemical, a company proposing a fertilizer plant near Tuscola in Douglas County, IL. UCSD has also received a request to sell water to Hallador Energy’s Sunrise Coal, the company that is trying to develop the “Bulldog” coal mine southeast of Homer in Vermilion County, IL.
UCSD’s water discharges, commonly referred to as “effluent,” now flow from the Urbana sewage treatment plant to the Saline Branch and then the Salt Fork of the Vermilion River, and from the Champaign plant to Copper Slough and eventually, to the Kaskaskia River. The water sales could significantly change the flows in these streams and may commit the District to selling water that would one day be needed in Champaign County.
Please join us at the UCSD public meeting on May 8th @ 6:30 pm at the Urbana sewage treatment plant, 1100 East University Avenue, Urbana.
While the details remain unclear, we have been told that Cronus is seeking 6.4 million gallons per day (MGD) of our water. We believe that Bulldog mine would use at least 1 million gallons per day during full operation. On the driest days, the Urbana and Champaign plants together discharge 13 MGD. Thus, during the driest times the companies could be taking more than half of the total effluent discharged to our local streams. Both of these industries are water-intensive and consumptive, meaning they use a lot of water and the water is largely used up rather than discharged back into the streams.
Prairie Rivers Network applauds UCSD for hosting a public meeting on May 8th, but is concerned that UCSD is proceeding too quickly and without considering the long term implications of the water sales. Although UCSD has drafted a policy for effluent sales, the policy appears to have been hastily drawn up as a vehicle for expediting the sales. Water sales have important ramifications for the health of our streams, our water supply and our local economies. It is a decision worthy of careful consideration and substantial public input.
Prairie Rivers Network supports wise water reuse, water conservation, groundwater and aquifer recharge and protection of aquatic life in our rivers and streams. Champaign County needs a sensible long term policy to govern water sales that considers the following:
Current water use is not sustainable
The way we currently use our water is not sustainable. The water we use in Champaign County originates from the Mahomet Aquifer. We use water from the aquifer faster than the recharge rate, creating a net loss in water supply. Decisions about how we reuse our effluent should not be made without consideration of the current depletion of the aquifer. Reducing the rate of withdrawal from the Mahomet aquifer through conservation and/or recharge of the aquifer is a necessary element of a sensible water policy.
The proposed sales to Cronus and Hallador perpetuate the pattern of overuse because the industries are water-intensive, consumptive and do not allow for aquifer recharge. The proposed sales do not promote water conservation and create a potential conflict for the District between promoting conservation and a contractual obligation to provide effluent, because reduced water use through conservation reduces the amount of effluent the District has available for sale.
UCSD discharges protect local steams
Effluent from the UCSD treatment plants is mitigating the unnaturally low stream flows caused by agricultural tile drains and stream channelization. Without the UCSD effluent, the Salt Fork, Copper Slough and the Kaskaskia would have lower flows during critical times, potentially harming aquatic life, riparian vegetation and the overall health and beauty of these rivers. UCSD effluent also dilutes the pollution that runs into the rivers from farmland and from urban areas. Lower flows in the Salt Fork would concentrate pollutants such as nitrates in the stream and could also threaten the quality and supply of Oakwood’s drinking water. Maintaining healthy flows in these streams must be a priority.
Sustainable Water Use Policy is needed to protect stream health, water needs and economic growth
Champaign County’s water supply is presently adequate but future shortages are a possibility without careful planning. With a changing climate and a projected increase in the frequency of droughts, we can expect increasing demands on local water supplies, particularly for irrigation. We may well need to reuse effluent to serve local needs and protect river ecosystems. Given the changing climate and uncertainty regarding precipitation, we should shun water intensive industries in favor of employers with better job-to-water-use ratios. The average job-to-water ratio in Champaign County in 2005 was 2600 jobs for every one million gallons of water used/day. In contrast, Cronus proposes 23 jobs for every million gallons of water used/day. Most of these jobs will be outside of Champaign County.
Champaign County needs a forward-thinking, long range, sustainable water use policy. The effluent from the UCSD plants is an important component of that policy. Let’s take the time now and get it right.
Please join us at the UCSD public meeting on May 8th @ 6:30 pm at the Urbana sewage treatment plant, 1100 East University Avenue, Urbana.
