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Wastewater Department

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"Water is the most precious compound in the world and we provide life-sustaining water back into the world." - City of Monticello Wastewater Utilities

fishFish at wastewater plant discharge area on Lake Freeman. "Life-sustaining water back into the world."Infrastructure is critical for attracting and retaining businesses and industries along with roads and drinking water, wastewater conveyance, and treatment complete the city-provided infrastructure components' trilogy. In addition, reliable and effective wastewater treatment is vital for protecting the Tippecanoe River and Lake Freeman.

The Wastewater Utility maintains and operates over 36 miles of storm and sanitary sewers, multiple pump stations, and a Class III wastewater treatment plant in the process of its third major upgrade since it was initially built in 1950. The treatment plant's latest upgrade increases its capacity from an average daily flow of 1.1 million gallons per day (MGD) to 1.6 MGD and increases its peak hydraulic capacity from 2.4 to 3.6 MGD. The updated treatment process is a state-of-the-art system consisting of fine screening, grit removal, and a modified, activated sludge system capable of enhanced biological phosphorus removal and total-nitrogen reduction in addition to conventional reductions of oxygen demanding substances and ammonia. Resource recovery is a high priority at the utility, with an emphasis placed on energy reduction and nutrient reclamation land application of biosolids that are removed from the wastewater, thoroughly processed and tested at the facility, and then used as soil amendments and fertilizer supplementation on local agricultural grounds.

The City of Monticello is one of many Indiana communities with a Combined Sewer System that overflows during heavy rain and snow melt events. These overflows are known as Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs). The City is aggressively working to reduce and eliminate these CSOs through its Agreed Order with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the continued implementation of its Long-Term Control Plan (LTCP). As a result, our utility has completed four of the five projects of the Agreed Order of its Long Term Control Plan.

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Quick Facts

  • In 2022, over 633 Million gallons of water were processed through the treatment plant with an average daily flow of 1.25 million gallons per day. Water from the treatment plant is discharged to Lake Freeman and exceeds the standards set by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit with greater than 99% removal of ammonia, solids, and oxygen demanding solutes. Over $28,000 worth of fertilizer was generated by the treatment process and returned as valuable nutrients to the City's agricultural land east of the City.
  • In addition to the treatment plant itself, the Utility operates and maintains 14 pump stations throughout the City and over 36-miles of collection pipes. In 2022, City personnel cleaned over 10,000-feet of pipe and contracted Accu-Dig, Inc to clean, televise, and inspect an additional 15,000-feet of pipe as a part of the City's on-going Asset Maintenance and Management Plan.
  • Utility personnel also processed over 1,596 locate tickets through the 811 "Call Before You Dig" System.
  • The Utility is currently designing Long Term Control Plan (LTCP) Project No. 5 in its efforts to meet and exceed the requirements of the City's Agreed Order to mitigate and reduce Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs). LTCP Project No. 4 included several large diameter interceptor sewers and a new effluent sewer from the treatment plant to the Lake.  Project No. 4 was completed January 26, 2022.
  • new2 removebgThe previous four LTCP projects include:
    • Project 1:   Sewer separation in the National Homes Neighborhood
    • Project 2a: The Bryan's Lift Station Improvements and Wet Weather Storage System
    • Project 2b: The Maple Street Interceptor
    • Project 3:   Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion and Improvements
    • Project 4:   Collection System Improvement Project (Lines A-D)

    The four completed LTCP projects have been highly effective in reducing CSO activity. As of 2022, less than 6 million gallons of water overflowed from the system in the entire year, compared to the average of 90 million gallons per year of overflow that occurred before the LTCP Projects.

    In addition, of the 5.38 million gallons of active CSO overflow for the year 2022, over 97% of the overflow occurred after passing through the new 60-MGD fine screen at the treatment plant's Headworks which removes any trash, debris, or other solid objects greater than a quarter inch in size.