Budget Message / Highlights - Metropolitan Water Reclamation ...

January 2, 2009
To the Residents of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District:
The Board of Commissioners and staff are pleased to present the 2009 Budget, as presented by the Executive Director
and revised by the Committee on Budget and Employment, which includes the resources to allow the Metropolitan
Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (District) to provide a quality water environment for our service area.
The District is positioned to meet our financial goals and undertake new initiatives to protect our environment. We are
pleased to report that the District continues to provide excellent service at great value to the community. We have
adopted and amended the 2009 Budget as a cost-effective plan to meet the needs of our residents.
Committee Hearings
The Committee on Budget and Employment received the Executive Director’s Budget Recommendations on October
21, 2008. Hearings on these requests were conducted on November 6, 2008, when the Executive Director and his
Department Heads presented major changes and initiatives included in the 2009 Budget. The Executive Director
focused his presentation on current and future operations in support of the District’s mission. The Committee discussed
developments in the District’s implementation of sustainable practices, the status of the Facility Master Plans, Phase II
of the TARP Thornton Reservoir and Stage I of the TARP McCook Reservoir, the Stormwater Management program,
and water quality standards, currently in development, that if implemented will have a significant financial impact on
the District’s overall budget.
The Public Hearing on the Budget was held on December 10, 2008 during which the Civic Federation deemed the
proposed budget as a fiscally responsible plan and commended our emphasis on long-term planning and personnel cost
containment. Local environmental advocacy groups recognized the District’s efforts and requested continued support of
green initiatives including prairie native landscaping, rain gardens, and development of alternative energy sources. The
Budget was adopted on December 11, 2008 and amended at the regular December 18, 2008 Board Meeting.
Mission of the District
The District will protect the health and safety of the public in its service area, protect the quality of the water supply source
(Lake Michigan), improve the quality of water in watercourses in its service area, protect businesses and homes from flood
damages, and manage water as a vital resource for its service area. The District’s service area is 883.5 square miles of
Cook County, Illinois. The District is committed to achieving the highest standards of excellence in fulfilling its mission.
Sustainable Practices
While the core mission of the District is protecting the quality of the water flowing within and through our corporate
borders, it would be particularly short-sighted to do this at the expense of other aspects of the environment.
The District is in the process of formalizing several operating policies with the common concept of utilizing sustainable
practices. These are methods of using resources that minimize their depletion or permanent damage thereby preserving
these resources for future generations. The primary mission of the District has been the recovery of water used by
humans, commerce, and industry in the metropolitan Chicago area since its establishment in 1889. Over the last 119
years, this mission has been refined from simply sending the polluted water elsewhere, to recovery of wastewater,
making the waterways a positive asset to the region, meeting the goals of the Clean Water Act, and managing
stormwater.
The District will establish goals and objectives to reduce the consumption of energy and other resources used to meet
the goals of its primary mission. Central principles of the program will be effective preventative maintenance of
facilities, along with a strong educational component for employees and the general public.
District facilities are designed to operate for decades. The three major treatment facilities were initially constructed in the
1920’s and 1930’s. Master Plans developed in the last few years for the renovation of these plants are designed from the
standpoint of increasing energy efficiency and recovering usable byproducts, i.e., digester gas and biosolids. For those
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