Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District Secures $7M State Loan for Malta Wastewater Consolidation – Shaw Local

SPRINGFIELD – The Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District in DeKalb recently secured a $7.1 million state loan to shore up wastewater treatment facilities at Malta Village and Kishwaukee Community College.

According to a press release from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the reclamation district secured a repayable loan of $7,122,910 for the consolidation. The loan will fund a plan to decommission the Malta and college wastewater treatment facilities and connect their service to the Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District, located in DeKalb.

The consolidation is expected to reduce annual expenses for users of district facilities, and future costs will be spread among more users to avoid further substantial rate increases, the statement said.

The Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District loan was also eligible for $2,068,436 in principal forgiveness, according to the IEPA. Projects funded in fiscal year 2022 receive an interest rate of 1.11% for wastewater and drinking water loans.

The loan award was part of a recent statewide allocation of more than $65.6 million from the state EPA in water infrastructure loans to local governments and health districts. distributed from October to December 2022.

The Illinois EPA’s State Revolving Fund Program offers low-interest loans, which finance wastewater, stormwater and potable water projects, the statement said.

IEPA recently awarded the Town of Sycamore a $1.7 million forgivable loan to replace lead service lines, part of more than $5.3 million distributed statewide to This program.

“Communities across Illinois continue to face the challenges of aging wastewater and drinking water infrastructure,” Director John J. Kim said in a news release. “The EPA of Illinois State Revolving Fund provides cost-effective loans to communities and water reclamation districts to meet the needs of their residents and customers.”

The EPA fund includes two loan programs: the Water Pollution Control Loan Program, which finances both wastewater and stormwater projects, and the Public Supply Loan Program. water for drinking water projects.

The programs receive federal capital funding each year, which is combined with state matching funds, interest income, repayments, and the sale of bonds, to form funds for infrastructure projects, says the press release. State matching funds through 2024 are provided through Governor JB Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois Capital Plan.