5 Local Communities Receive Sewer Grants from IEPA

By Benjamin Cox on May 17, 2021 at 1:34pm

Several local communities were notified today that they have received grants from the EPA for being an unsewered community.

Illinois EPA Director John Kim today announced grant awards totaling $1 million in funding to assist unsewered communities with inadequate or nonexistent wastewater collection and treatment systems.

The Unsewered Communities Planning Grant Program will assist small and disadvantaged communities to develop project plans that identify solutions to wastewater collection and treatment needs. The program is made possible through Governor Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois capital plan.

Beardstown will receive $26,000; Modesto is set for $30,000; New Salem Township in Pike County will receive $30,000; Browning in Schuyler County will get $30,000; and Manchester is set to receive $26,000.

According to the state EPA, Illinois has 200 unsewered communities that lack wastewater collection and/or treatment systems. Many of these communities have patchwork systems or decades-old underground “wildcat” pipes that illegally discharge to surface waters. While a lack of planning capacity is often a significant initial barrier for these communities, the biggest hurdle remains the lack of local revenue to invest in the construction and long-term operations and maintenance of modern collection and/or treatment facilities.