DuPage County’s capital improvement plan estimates $21 million for sewage plant rehab

The DuPage County Public Works department presented a final capital improvement plan for the 2024 fiscal year, prioritizing the work across the county’s sewage and water infrastructure, at a meeting June 20.

More than 70 miles of water main lines and 500 miles of sewer mainlines around central and southeast DuPage are expected to be serviced throughout 2024, affecting 200,000 residents and approximately 13 municipalities, including Darien, Downers Grove, Glendale Heights, Hinsdale, Naperville, Wheaton and Willowbrook.

The department estimates an $8.6 million increase in the annual budget, heavily reliant on grants and loans from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

Nearly 80% of the $26.3 million capital improvement spending proposed by public works would come from state funds.

According to the public works department, the budget’s funds will come from three sources — $10.5 million in pending loans and grants from the IEPA, $5.3 million from existing cash flow into the capital improvement and $10.5 million from the IEPA’s revolving fund program, a state grant used to fund disaster mitigation projects, post-disaster recovery and rebuilding projects.

Many of the big budget items are carry-overs from previous years, including the $21 million to rehabilitate the electrical systems for two of the three county wastewater treatment plants, in Burr Ridge and Woodridge. Construction efforts on the plants throughout 2024 is expected to cost 10.5 million, with a tentative completion in the spring of 2025.

The final capital improvement plan and budget will be approved by the county board in September.