The Village of Forsyth provides potable water service to more than 2,000 residents. This population has doubled in the past 10 years, and the area is projected to continue this rapid growth. The Village’s existing water system has barely able to keep up with maximum demand in the peak summer lawn irrigation period. Farnsworth Group was retained to plan, pilot, obtain financing, design, permit, and oversee construction of a new lime softening water treatment plant that doubled the capacity of the existing water supply system.
The existing 1 MGD water treatment plant, an iron removal ion exchange softening facility with aeration, detention, rapid sand filtration, and zeolite softening, had been expanded multiple times and lacked space for a new lime softening plant and sludge lagoons. It also could not effectively remove elevated arsenic levels in the groundwater. As a result, the Village sited a new 2 MGD lime softening facility on a 200-acre tract on the east side designated for future development. The new plant, occupying approximately 10 acres, includes aeration, solids contact softening, recarbonation, rapid sand filtration, finished water storage, and lime sludge dewatering lagoons.
The total cost of the project is approximately $5M. After considering several financing options, the Village selected the IEPA revolving loan fund as the financial mechanism for the bulk of the project. The remainder of the funds were provided by a USEPA STAG grant that our team also administered for the Village.
