Peoria City Hall updates on Sewer Overflow Control Program progress
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Interested parties got an update Thursday on the progress the city is making to keep sewage and other waste out of the Illinois River.
A meeting in South Peoria at the Peoria Public Library's Lincoln branch took an extra meaning as City Hall sent out another alert of a combined sewer overflow due to the large amount of rain from Wednesday's storm.
Nick McMillion, a spokesman for the city's public works department, explains the safety precautions of the alerts.
'Typically with those alerts when they happen, it's recommended don't make contact with water in the Illinois River for at least 48 hours,' McMillion said. 'So that alert of the combined sewer overflow will be in place for the next couple of days.'
The city's public works department was behind the meeting which updated the community on the municipal separate storm sewer system and combined sewer overflow control program, along with informing them on how they can prevent excess sewage.
For years, runoff from a large rain event would combine with sewage and flow into the river instead of the city's treatment plant. The problem had City Hall and the federal government at odds since the 1980s.
Referred to as a combined sewer overflow, the sewage contributes to elevated bacteria levels in the river and poses health risks.
In December 2020, the city and the federal Environmental Protection Agency entered into a consent decree where the city agreed to spend more than $100 million to fix the aging system over an 18-year period. In return, the EPA agreed to not ley millions in fines against Peoria.
'We have 18 years to implement all of these projects, this is just year four,' McMillion said. 'So with this project, it is another huge project that we're excited to get started on.'
Now in year 4, the CSO project has spent millions working on both green approaches to the sewer issues as well as replacing old and outdated pipes.
For more information, go to the city's website regarding CSOs.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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