Mayor David Stover’s administration is considering scrapping a plan to build a 27-acre lime-conditioning facility in favor of using a mechanical process at the city’s water treatment plant to remove lime from sludge created when water is purified.
The outdoor lime-drying facility, which would contain nine lagoons to dry the sludge for shipment to a landfill or land application on farms, was proposed by the administration of former Mayor David Pierce. Stover, however, is not convinced it’s the best way to handle the lime, a federally regulated but non-toxic substance that is a byproduct of water production, said Stover spokesman Bill Catching.
To give Stover time to evaluate the situation, the Planning and Development Committee last week delayed action on final site plans for the facility, which was recommended for approval by the Plan Commission despite neighborhood opposition. The facility would be south of Mettel Road, midway between Illinois Highway 25 and Mitchell Road.
If the city were leaning in favor of the mechanical process, it would likely enter an agreement at a cost of about $500,000 to test the process for six months, Catching said.
If the city scrapped the lagoon plan, it also would have to decide what to do with the land purchased for the facility. The city paid $1.1 million for the land in February.
