Groundbreaking Held for Phase 1 of Waste Water Treatment Plant Upgrades

FREEPORT, IL – On Tuesday, June 18, the City of Freeport, Fehr Graham contractors, and IHC Construction Companies broke ground on Phase 1 of the Waste Water Treatment Plant upgrades.

The Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade is a $60 million project that will address critical wastewater infrastructure needs, environmental compliance, and utility resilience. Phase 1 of this upgrade will include replacement of the Water Treatment Plant’s headworks, add a chemically enhanced primary treatment process that will receive stormwater flow, prevent untreated discharges to the Pecatonica river and raw sewage leaks in maintenance areas, replace obsolete laboratory and sampling testing equipment, eliminate chlorination disinfection byproducts, and transition to a new UV disinfection of wastewater effluent. Addressing these challenges and making necessary improvements is crucial to ensure environmental compliance and maintain the operations of the Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Construction is estimated to take 3 years to complete. A full description of the project can be found at this link.