Keeping the Kishwaukee Clean
We play an active role in the natural water reclamation cycle for the benefit of our users.
DeKalb Sanitary District discharges treated water to the South Branch of the Kishwaukee River
Under the auspices of the United States and Illinois Environmental Protection Agencies:
- We monitor the quality of residential, commercial, and industrial discharges that come to us.
- We regulate what can be placed into the wastewater collection system.
- We cleanse the waste water that we receive to a quality that allows it to be safely used again.
Ten to thirteen hours after entering the treatment plant at the headworks, treated water is discharged to the Kishwaukee.
Regulation of Water Quality
Effluent quality is assured by samples taken and tested constantly with monthly reporting to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the guardian of Water Quality Standards for the State of Illinois.
Harmful Substances Removed
DeKalb Sanitary District's treatment process removes many materials that damage water quality and threaten public health and safety. Some of these are:
- Plastic, wood, paper, grease and fat
- Suspended Solids from human waste and other sources
- Dissolved pollutants from human waste and decomposition products
- Biochemical Oxygen Demand (oxygen-demanding materials that deplete the oxygen content of the receiving waters), phosphorus, nitrogen and ammonia
- Heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium, and chromium
- Organic chemicals such as pesticides, industrial solvents, and gasoline
- Disease-causing microorganisms associated with fecal matter