Batavia to get $38M low-interest loan to rehab wastewater treatment plant

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $38 million low-interest loan to Batavia so the city can upgrade its wastewater treatment plant, officials announced in a news release.

Batavia Public Works Director Gary Holm said the city's existing equipment is at the end of its useful life.

"We will start construction this September and continue to 2026," Holm said of the three-year project. "Residents will see work in the area of South Water Street and will continue to see that work in the next year. After the first year, the work will be more isolated to the treatment plant itself."

The project will include the installation of a new rotary drum thickener, which is part of the process of removing liquid and leaving the solids behind. An existing ultra-violet disinfection system also will be replaced.

The work will require the demolition of the Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry building at 100 Flinn St.

"We will relocate them to a new facility," Holm said.

Batavia will repay its loan over 20 years, he said.

Another Kane County municipality - Pingree Grove - was granted a $51 million loan to build a new wastewater treatment plant that will double the existing daily average flow while improving the treated effluent quality to meet phosphorous limits, according to the release.

The plant expansion is expected to serve the village's growth for the next 20 years, according to the release.