The Board of Commissioners at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) adopted a balanced $1.7 billion budget to continue the MWRD’s critical work treating the region’s wastewater, managing stormwater and protecting the water environment for 5.19 million people living throughout Cook County.

The MWRD Board of Commissioners formally adopted the budget on Dec. 19. The budget is supported by a total tax levy of $709.7 million that affords the MWRD the resources to treat wastewater for homes and businesses in Chicago and 128 surrounding municipalities and serve as the regional stormwater authority for Cook County. The budget aligns with the goals, strategies and initiatives outlined in the MWRD’s five-year Strategic Plan that values excellence, respect, innovation, safety, equity and diversity, and accountability.

“Thank you to our staff for preparing a balanced spending plan and to my colleagues for their collaboration and input in ensuring this budget works for everyone, and most notably, thank you to the taxpayers for placing their trust in us to allocate these resources judiciously, fairly and transparently,” said MWRD President Kari K. Steele. “This budget ensures our essential services are provided to residents around the clock to protect our water environment.”

On the average day, the MWRD transforms 1.2 billion gallons of wastewater into clean water at its seven water reclamation plants (WRPs), while also mitigating flooding, recovering resources, monitoring area water resources, protecting public health, investing in innovation to lower carbon emissions, reduce energy demands and safeguard the environment.

The MWRD’s 2025 budget outlines a $1.7 billion spending plan to invest in public infrastructure while meeting long-term environmental and financial implications of permit compliance. The 2025 budget includes a Corporate Fund appropriation of $523.7 million to cover operating costs and a Capital Improvement Program budget of $744.8 million to cover construction costs and stormwater management projects. 

Year-over-year increases to the Corporate Fund budget are attributable primarily to increases in labor costs, processing chemicals, biosolids disposal, insurance premiums, and a one-time Tunnel and Reservoir Plan maintenance cost.

Included in the Capital Improvement Program budget is a $368 million project to build an additional secondary treatment battery with aeration and settling tanks and appurtenances at the MWRD’s O’Brien WRP in Skokie. The new facilities will allow the MWRD to remove additional phosphorus from the wastewater using a biological process to meet more stringent permit limits and better protect water quality downstream of the WRP. While the project costs are included in this year’s budget, the construction of the facility will begin in late 2025, with work expected to continue through 2028. 

Most of the capital improvement projects, or approximately 70 percent, will be dedicated toward WRP projects, including phosphorus removal modifications, pump and blower house rehabilitation, switchgear and motor control center replacement and other projects required to rehabilitate or replace infrastructure approaching a century of service. 

The MWRD budget includes a $134.7 million Stormwater Management Fund to implement a wide range of projects and strategies to manage more intense storms brought on by the effects of climate change. In only 10 years since receiving state authority to partner on local projects, the MWRD has participated in over 260 projects that protect more than 19,000 homes, businesses and other buildings throughout Cook County. The 2025 stormwater management projects include continuation of the Addison Creek Channel Improvements, the Robbins Heritage Park and Midlothian Creek Restoration and plans to construct underground flood storage facilities on the West Side of Chicago.

“The investments we are making in 2025 toward infrastructure modernization will help us meet our mission today and well into the future,” said MWRD Vice President Patricia Theresa Flynn, chair of the MWRD Committee on Budget and Employment. “Because of prudent financial management, we have the resources to invest in our water reclamation plants, stormwater management projects and protections for the water environment that our region relies on each day.” 

The MWRD remains committed to long-term fiscal management by providing advance funding to its MWRD Retirement Fund. For the fourth consecutive year, the MWRD plans to invest its reserves toward pension obligations. The 2025 budget includes an anticipated $30.0 million in advance funding to maintain the Retirement Fund. The MWRD will also continue to contribute $5.0 million annually to the OPEB (Other Postemployment Benefits) Trust Fund. 

Under the Strategic Plan, in 2025 the MWRD continues its vision of resource recovery, sustainability, resilience, and innovation, investing in Strategic Plan goals related to resource management, stormwater management, workforce excellence, community engagement and enterprise resilience. Driven by the Strategic Plan blueprint, the MWRD in 2024 developed a new recruitment strategy, expanded its innovation ecosystem in partnering with research institutions and universities, established a new website, dashboard and interactive platform to track progress and other data, launched a new community partnership council at its Stickney WRP and earned credit rating upgrades. Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings assigned the MWRD with AAA and AA+ ratings respectively in November.

Established in 1889, the MWRD remains an important leader in protecting public health and the region’s water environment. Over 135 years, the MWRD has taken on critical engineering tasks, such as reversing the flows of the Chicago and Calumet rivers, building seven WRPs and the TARP, considered one of the nation’s largest public works projects to address water pollution and flood control. The MWRD keeps 76.1 miles of waterways healthy and navigable, owns and operates 34 stormwater detention reservoirs to provide regional flood protection and invests each year in dozens of local stormwater management projects, partnerships and initiatives.

The MWRD was honored in 2024 with numerous awards:

• The National Association of Clean Water Agencies honored the MWRD for meeting 100 percent compliance at its seven WRPs on National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits for the previous year. 
• The International Water Association Climate Smart Utilities Recognition Programme recognized the MWRD’s Climate Action Plan (CAP), placing it among the top three finalists out of a field of more than 90 water international utilities. 
• The American Society of Civil Engineering-Illinois Section recognized the MWRD’s Addison Creek Reservoir with the Outstanding Engineering Achievement
• The MWRD’s new website was recognized by the National Association of Government Web Professionals (NAGW) with a Pinnacle Award. 
• Friends of the Chicago River honored two projects that the MWRD partnered on, including the Chicago Waterways Restoration Framework Plan and the Winchester Avenue Green Infrastructure and Flood Reduction Project. 
• The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) again awarded the MWRD with a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award and Certificates of Achievement of Excellence in Financial Reporting to the MWRD, the MWRD Retirement Fund and MWRD Retiree Health Care Trust for annual comprehensive financial reports.