The city of Ottawa wants to move forward with building a second wastewater treatment plant. The council held a special hearing with Fehr Graham Engineering Project Manager Naren Patel. He talked about how the plan for a second plant could come together after the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency did an environmental impact study in the area where the new plant would be built. The meeting included designs for the new plant.
City Engineer Tom Duttlinger says the city applied for a permit to discharge treated water into the Fox River about a year and a half ago. Now the city has to apply for a loan. The city had to create a facility planning report.
The new sewer plant will cost about $29 million to complete, which means the city will take out a thirty-year loan to pay it off. Duttlinger says the sewer plant will help with development near the area of IL 71 and just north of Rt. 6 south of Hank’s Farm Restaurant. The bidding process for the plant will start in August 2025.