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Board Approves Resolution to Advance Reuse of Treated Water

7/30/2025

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting

July 17, 2025

The Board approved a resolution calling for the advancement of water reuse in a practical, cost-effective, and phased-in manner and called for the following sequence of actions:

Conduct a targeted survey of potential non-potable reuse customers within one year of approval with the goal of identifying at least one viable pilot reuse study.
If a viable reuse project is identified, it will be presented to the MWRD Board for consideration and approval to negotiate an agreement with customers and stakeholders and initiated within 36 months from the conclusion of the study.
Actively pursue external funding sources and cost-sharing arrangements.

Stated in the resolution: The District’s treated effluent (water) is often already of sufficient quality for use in irrigation, commercial, and industrial applications and the Kirie and Egan water treatment plants are currently providing their effluent to local park districts. #3 25-0562

Deleted or Deferred Items

#20 25-0507 Deleted by the E.D. Authority to advertise for bids for Roof Replacement and Rehabilitation at various locations. Estimated cost between $3.9 and $4.7 million.
#43 25-0535 Deferred by V.P. Flynn for boiler tuning and maintenance services at $1.2 million.
#46 25-0490 2nd Deferral by President Steele for a $1.2 million increase to a $39.9 million contract for Street Conduit rehabilitation. Required a voice vote for 2nd deferral.

Other Approved Agenda Items

Advertise for State Legislative Consulting Services, at an estimated cost of $100,00 (four separate contracts in an amount not to exceed $25,000 annually). Flynn asked for information on what specialized professional services do not require RFPs. #18 25-0504
Issue contract for lab analysis of Per and Poly (PFAS) substances and organic fluorine in wastewater samples to Enthalpy Analytical, LLC at $63,500. Davis requested that the M&R Department look into accreditation and certification for this type of services through universities and can this be incorporated into the university master agreements #34 25-0536
Agree to enter into a collaborative research project with the U. of Ill. on the environmental benefits and use of biosolids for production of Industrial Hemp at an estimated cost of $90,261. This item was deleted in June. Flynn is a big supporter of researching the benefits of hemp and its possible use for mitigating PFAS chemicals. #35 25-0538
Report on the 2024 annual Comprehensive Finance Report of the MWRD’s Retirement Fund which was valued at $1.69B. Overall, the fund is in excellent shape because the investment market has risen significantly since the Covid years. The Fund Manager recommends diversification with less emphasis on Stock equity. #56 25-0548

Other Items of Interest:

At the beginning of the meeting, Com Ed presented the MWRD with a check for $423,222 representing the value of the incentives from participating in the utility’s program since 2019. Com Ed wants to add the Stickney Plant to the other four in the program which has saved 7 gigawatt hours - enough to serve 800 homes for a year and reduce the carbon output by 5 million pounds.

Observer - Diane Edmundson

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MWRD Board Quickly Deals with Agenda

7/1/2025

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Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board Meeting
June 26, 2025

In 30 minutes, the Board dealt with the 29 agenda items with some limited discussion.
Absent: Commissioners Precious Brady-Davis and Yumeka Brown.

Items deleted (no reason stated) from the agenda by Acting Executive Director Murphy:

A proposal to enter into a Collaborative Research Project with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne pursuant to a Master Agreement on the Environmental Benefits and Use of Biosolids for Production of Industrial Hemp with an estimated cost of $90,261. File 25-0473, Agenda # 15.
A proposed purchase order for Laboratory Analysis of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Adsorbable Organic Fluorine in Wastewater Samples to Enthalpy Analytical for up to $63,500. File 25-0495, Agenda #20.

Items deferred:

Comm. Waller deferred the Authority to advertise a furnishing and delivering contract for ferric chloride with an estimated cost of $22.5 M. She is looking for a comparison report to be provided. President Steele confirmed with Mr. Murphy that this deferral would not delay any testing. File 25-0485, Agenda #11.
Commissioner Garcia deferred the item to increase a contract with Michels Trenchless for 39th Street Conduit Rehabilitation by an amount of $1.25 M. File 25-0490, Agenda # 25.

The remaining 25 items were approved, with 2 discussed:

Comm. Waller asked about the recent history of compliance with the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) by Tradebe Environmental Services which is to provide hazardous waste disposal from various MWRD locations under a new contract. Assurances were given that while there had been some violations, these were relatively minor and the vendor had fully cooperated with the EPA. File 25-0488, Agenda # 22.
Comm. Davis asked for a sense of when, after negotiations, the intergovernmental agreements would be signed and projects commenced for the stormwater partnership projects submitted by municipalities that made the list of possible projects. Mr. Murphy said the next step will be to come to the Board for approval to negotiate agreements and hopefully some of these will move toward construction within a year. File 25-0491, Agenda # 28.

New Business:

Vice President Flynn promoted “Plastic-free July” at the MWRD.
President Steele announced that Comm. Brady-Davis would be attending a Harvard Executive Program in July.

There was no Executive Session.

Observer: Priscilla Mims

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Board Approves Resolution to Advance Reuse of Treated Water

MWRD Board Quickly Deals with Agenda

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