Wastewater Treatment

Major Components of the Wastewater Treatment Plant

The following are the major components of the Village’s award-winning Wastewater Treatment Plant:

• Primary and Secondary Clarifiers - These large settling tanks allow heavy solids to settle out. The settled solids are referred to as sludge. The remaining liquid is referred to as effluent.
• Aeration Tanks - The aeration tanks bring countless microscopic organisms in contact with wastewater and oxygen. The mixture in the tanks is referred to as mixed liquor. The microorganisms remove the organic material (pollutants) from the wastewater.
• Anaerobic Digesters - Primary and waste biological sludge is pumped into the anaerobic digesters where microorganisms thriving in an oxygen-deficient environment break down the organic substances in the sludge. The sludge is processed in the digesters for up to 40 days. The fully digested sludge is referred to as biosolids.
• Sludge Drying Beds - Biosolids are sent to drying beds where they are left to dry naturally by evaporation. Treated and dried biosolids are applied to agricultural land as a soil conditioner and fertilizer. Biosolids provide valuable nutrients that can improve soil and yield better crops. This process provides a cost-effective and environmentally sound alternative for sludge disposal.
• Effluent Disinfection - In the final steps of the process, chlorine is applied to the effluent as a disinfectant to kill any remaining pathogens. Residual chlorine is then removed before discharging the fully treated effluent to the Fox River for reuse.