Illinois Reclamation District Implements Phosphorus Removal to Achieve Strict Environmental Standards

Problem: The Fox River Water Reclamation District in South Elgin, Illinois, needed to comply with an NPDES permit requiring a reduction of phosphorus discharges. Solution: Black and Veatch provided a comprehensive feasibility study of the district’s three water reclamation facilities and reviewed multiple nutrient removal processes. The district chose biological phosphorus removal along with MagPrex, a system from Centrisys/CNP able to precipitate phosphorus in the biosolids stream as struvite and substantially reduce soluble phosphorus in the digested solids stream and plant effluent. Result: Implemented in 2021, the system consistently removes over 90% of orthophosphate in the solids stream and improved dewatering: