Note: This blog post was updated to reflect legislation that passed in July 2023. Illinois has more lead service lines than any other state in the nation, with a number the National Resources Defense Council estimates to be anywhere from 700,000 to 1.4 million. Although the state banned lead service line installation in 1986, antecedent lines...
Hindsight might be 20/20, but foresight is pretty essential when it comes to infrastructure planning. Too often, communities grow in a piecemeal type of way: A subdivision is built, so sewer lines are put in to serve the neighborhood. A strip mall goes up next door, tying into those same lines. The once quiet street above the sewer that was easy to...
Adding air directly to wastewater is considered a critical step in wastewater treatment because it facilitates the biodegradation of organic pollutants. However, this vital aeration process also consumes the most energy at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Given that aerobic reactors in the secondary treatment activated sludge process account fo...
It was a frightening moment across the U.S. when football player Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on live television. A safety for the Buffalo Bills, Hamlin tackled another player and stood up – only to collapse moments later without a pulse. Thousands watched as CPR was performed, an ambulance arrived and Hamlin was driven away. The game was p...
Aeration – or the addition of oxygen – is one of the most critical and energy-intensive processes in wastewater treatment, consuming up to 50 to 60% of the overall energy required by a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Aeration produces dissolved oxygen (DO) to facilitate the growth of microorganisms and is used across all stages of wastewater tre...
Long-term, comprehensive planning is key to successful wastewater treatment systems. Without a strong plan, a community's ability to facilitate development may be limited by its wastewater infrastructure – or worse, its rivers, lakes, streams and residents' basements may be at risk from failing wastewater infrastructure. A Master Plan will consider...
Food manufacturers in Illinois and Ohio can expect additional Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspections in 2023, after the federal safety agency noted higher-than-normal injuries at those facilities. OSHA issued an alert for food production facilities in Illinois and Ohio last month, saying it would launch a Local Emphasis Pr...
Under the auspices of the Safe Drinking Water Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency applies the secondary treatment standards for wastewater as national minimum requirements for discharges from wastewater treatment plants to U.S. surface waters. Depending on receiving water conditions or specific state regulations demanding higher-quality e...
Engineering and environmental services are easy to gloss over at the onset of a project. It's not like concrete or construction workers – who take on pieces of a project for roads and bridges that you wouldn't dream of doing without. In the end, however, engineering services are the piece that keeps your project on time – and more importantly,...
During the wastewater treatment process, the primary and secondary stages aim to remove the majority of suspended solids and organic contaminants before the effluent progresses to tertiary treatment. The primary treatment removes nearly 60% of settleable solids and the secondary treatment uses bacterial decomposition to remove nearly 85% of organic...
In wastewater treatment, the clarification process removes suspended solids using gravity. The secondary function of a wastewater clarifier is to remove accumulated scum or floating matter on the surface. This blog post discusses the primary and secondary clarification processes, the types of wastewater clarifiers and how an experienced wastewater ...
Approval for construction projects might require additional time and money moving forward, but for a good reason: protecting the balance of the natural ecosystem throughout Illinois. In 2015, the Indiana bat and northern long-eared bat were listed as a threatened species, after a deadly disease of hibernating bats spread through their populations. ...
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages state water quality standards to ensure all surface waters are swimmable and fishable and that municipal leaders can use water resources to the fullest capacity for public benefit. Under authority delegated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the state DNR administers the Public ...
Bioremediation — the use of microorganisms to degrade organic contaminants — is a widely used and cost-effective method to clean up contaminated soil. Microbes, including bacteria, fungi and plants, break down, transform or alter contaminants and use them as energy sources to support life. To stimulate and enhance microbial activity, remediation te...
Sometimes, workers make poor choices. But as employers, it's our job to educate them to make the best ones. And as safety-conscious businesses who want to ensure safety while minimizing liability, keeping records of safety compliance is essential. Case in point: A worker on his break decided to use a company propane torch to light his cigar. It cau...
Even after the primary physical treatment, wastewater contains large quantities of dissolved and colloidal organic material. Though primary treatment can reduce biochemical oxygen demand by as much as 30%, the treated effluent still requires a secondary treatment that uses complex biological processes to remove organic contaminants. The goal ...
A 2020 Yale Environment Review article calls attention to declining drinking water distribution systems across the United States and notes leaking pipes lose up to 6 billion gallons of water daily. Because most U.S. water infrastructure was developed in the 1900s with an estimated lifespan of 100 years, malfunctions like leaking pipes, pump breakdo...
From small, boarded-up gas stations to abandoned factories, variously sized brownfields comprise familiar parts of the landscape across the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates more than 450,000 brownfields are situated throughout remote and urban settings. Often in economically distressed communities, the proximity of...
According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) 2021 Annual Drinking Report, more than 98% of the state's public water systems comply with all health-based standards. The Wisconsin DNR implements the state's drinking water program, which includes municipal community water systems, other-than-municipal community water systems, nontr...
A critical source of drinking water and irrigation, groundwater makes up about 90% of total available freshwater in the United States. When chemicals from pesticides, fertilizers, road salt, petroleum products, leaking underground storage tanks, landfill waste and other sources seep into groundwater over time, contamination occurs. Because groundwa...
