Work recently began on a Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) project to inspect and rehabilitate sanitary sewers in nine suburban communities that can lead to improved sewer conditions, less basement backups and cleaner area waterways.

Closed-circuit television cameras (left) along with autocoded software (right) allow the MWRD and contractors to deploy underground visual inspections of local sewer systems and perform condition assessment of 29.5 miles of sewer in its latest project.

This $5 million investment, funded through grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will begin with a sewer condition assessment aimed at detecting defects in sewers in Bellwood, Country Club Hills, Dolton, Ford Heights, Harvey, Hazel Crest, Markham, Riverdale and Stone Park. The MWRD will analyze the most at-risk portion of the local sanitary sewer system to determine infiltration and inflow sources within the nine communities, which are considered disproportionately impacted areas. These communities are low-to-moderate income areas that may be more susceptible to flooding, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) Urban or Riverine Flood Susceptibility Index.

Infiltration and inflow, often referred to as “I&I,” is clear water that enters the sanitary sewer system that is not meant to be there. Separate sanitary sewer and stormwater drainage systems that serve these nine communities are designed to have sanitary sewage directed into one system and stormwater into the other. But excessive infiltration and inflow into the sanitary sewer system can contribute to basement backups and sanitary sewer overflows that pollute area waterways when the clear water is competing for the same space in local pipes as wastewater.

Minor traffic disruptions are expected while sewer inspection work occurs within each municipality, but the overall project is expected to make a positive impact for communities in need of sewer repairs. The sewer condition assessment project began with work in Bellwood and Country Club Hills in October and then will move to the other seven communities in the following months, including Hazel Crest, where officials are looking forward to the condition assessment on their infrastructure.

“The Forging Resilient Communities sewer improvements project represents a significant step forward for Hazel Crest and communities across Cook County,” said Hazel Crest Mayor Sandra Alexander. “We are excited to share the positive impact this investment will have on our infrastructure and quality of life.”

As part of the MWRD’s Watershed Management Ordinance (WMO), which regulates and mitigates the effects of development and redevelopment on stormwater drainage, the MWRD developed an updated Infiltration and Inflow Control Program (IICP) aided by an advisory technical panel of experts from the EPA, Illinois EPA, municipalities, sanitary districts, townships, a utility company, a sewer construction contractor, consultants and MWRD staff.

“This project exemplifies how federal funding can be leveraged with MWRD resources to provide multiple benefits and combine many of our initiatives in managing stormwater, treating wastewater and protecting the quality of our area waterways, while also protecting vulnerable communities deserving of our help,” said MWRD Commissioner Yumeka Brown. “We thank these nine communities for their partnership in addressing a clean water issue and making it a priority.” 

The sewer condition assessment is expected to last approximately six months running through early 2026.