The daily flow data shows that the Dillman wastewater treatment plant frequently exceeds its rated capacity of 15 million gallons a day (lower red line). The expansion project is designed to increase the capacity to 20 million gallons a day (upper red line).
The red dashed line is drawn at 90-percent of the 15 MGD rated capacity of the Dillman Road treatment plant.
Location map of the Dillman Road waste water treatment plant.
A view to the west into the “Jordan River” culvert on the edge of the Indiana University campus.
Why does the “Jordan River” culvert that runs under downtown Bloomington need to be upsized? This is the view on Feb. 7, 2019 after a heavy rain, looking south on Indiana Avenue on the edge of the IU campus. (Dave Askins/Square Beacon)
At its regular meeting on Wednesday, Bloomington’s city council approved $32 million in sewage works revenue bonds, to help pay for two major projects.
One is a $23-million expansion and modernization project for the city’s Dillman Road wastewater treatment plant. The capacity of the plant will be increased by 25 percent one-third, from 15 million gallons a day to 20 million gallons a day.
The expansion is needed because the plant has, on an annual basis, consistently exceeded 90-percent of its designed flow rate of 15 million gallons. The exceedances were noted by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management in 2016.
According to the city’s director of utilities Vic Kelson, the expansion should give the plant enough capacity to handle increases in population projected through about 2035.
The other project to be financed by the sewage revenue bonds is an $11-million renovation of the stormwater culvert that runs under downtown Bloomington, from the western edge of the Indiana University between Kirkwood Avenue and 6th Street. The open stream that flows across the campus is known as the “Jordan River.” Continue reading “$32M in sewage works bonds OK’d for two projects: Culvert under downtown Bloomington, wastewater treatment plant capacity expansion” →
