The Aurora City Council on Tuesday will consider amending its budget and hiring 10 Water Department employees to prevent another emergency-boil order.
The step will help the Water Department “do everything we can” to avoid an event like the 10-day order last February, said Arnie Eggleston, superintendent of water production for Aurora.
Adding employees at the plant was one recommendation of a report prepared by a team of experts after the boil order, Eggleston said.
Experts concluded that contamination of the Fox River was the likely reason for the deterioration in water quality. Officials have concluded that coliform bacteria made it into Aurora’s water supply partly because of a sharp increase in ammonia discharged into the river.
Proposed annual salaries for the new hires would total $460,330.
Bob Rieser, director of public works, told council members it could take months to fill the jobs.
“It will take a while. I will be surprised if all the positions are filled in one year,” he said.
