[remote or in person] Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board of Commissioners

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

Utilities

Thursday, March 6, 2025
10:30 a.m. — 12:30 p.m. CST

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100 East Erie Street Chicago 60611 (Directions)

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Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Live reporting by William Lu

Commissioner's discussed maintaining current water treatment standards despite changes at the federal level.

Will Lioux

Good morning this is Will! I'll be live-tweeting today's regular board meeting of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board of Commissioners for #CHIdocumenters @CHIdocumenters

10:32 AM Mar 6, 2025 CST

Will Lioux @LiouxW 2/22

Looking forward to a pretty packed meeting, with the Standing Committees of Finance, Procurement, Judiciary, Real Estate Development, and Stormwater Management all having much to cover. This is the link to today's agenda: mwrd.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&…

mwrd.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&…

Will Lioux @LiouxW 3/22

The meeting has been called to order by Kari Steele, President Board of Commissioners, at 10:30 am. Just settling in:

Will Lioux @LiouxW 4/22

Interesting opening scene with the procession into the room by the Shannon Rovers Irish Bagpipe Band:

Will Lioux @LiouxW 5/22

Jim Coyne from Plumbers UA Local 130 is speaking about the upcoming St Patrick's Day Parade and his union's role in turning the Chicago River green. Much fanfare in the room with Cara Walsh, the 2025 Parade Queen, taking over the podium next.

Will Lioux @LiouxW 6/22

Both Jim and Cara spoke about the contribution of Irish laborers to the City of Chicago, paying tribute to their own families in the process. President Steele then moved to approve the minutes of last board meeting and to adjourn for five minutes. See you after this short break!

Will Lioux @LiouxW 7/22

Items pulled out of the consent agenda are being discussed now. Item 11, Roof Replacement at Egan Water Reclamation Plant (), is coming up first. Multiple commissioners are asking questions about the possible installation of a green roof for the project. mwrd.org/locations/john…

mwrd.org/locations/john…

Will Lioux @LiouxW 8/22

Items 17, 18, and 19 are next. Three separate contracts to award by the Board to contractors: Utilization and Transportation of Air Dried Biosolids from LASMA and CALSMA, Services of Heavy Equipment with Operators, and Beneficial Reuse of Biosolids from LASMA and CALSMA.

Will Lioux @LiouxW 9/22

President Steele emphasized that, although federal regulations on water treatment have been made less stringent, the Board will continue to uphold the same standards on water treatment under its jurisdiction, a sentiment widely shared by other commissioners.

Will Lioux @LiouxW 10/22

Roll call votes for items 17, 18, and 19 have been deferred to the afternoon, after Commissioner Waller voiced her vehement opposition to items 17 & 19.

Will Lioux @LiouxW 11/22

Next up is item 25, the Amended Agreed Order of Settlement issued by the Board-appointed Hearing Officer in the reinstated Show Cause proceedings of Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago v. Electronic Plating Co., Case No. 22B-003.

Will Lioux @LiouxW 12/22

Item 25 is deferred to the next two weeks after the Board's legal counsel Susan Morakalis spoke about the proposed settlement. She conveyed some sense of urgency for the board to address the settlement but it appears that won't be addressed today.

Will Lioux @LiouxW 13/22

Another five-minute break before the regular board meeting resumes!

Will Lioux @LiouxW 14/22

John Murray has just been unanimously appointed as the Acting Executive Director.

Will Lioux @LiouxW 15/22

Roll call for Item 17: Authority to award Contract 25-692-11, Utilization and Transportation of Air Dried Biosolids from LASMA and CALSMA, Groups A and B to Synagro Central, LLC, in an amount not to exceed $3,778,388.15. Approved with Commissioner Waller being the only no vote.

Will Lioux @LiouxW 16/22

Roll call for Item 18: Authority to award Contract 25-699-11, Services of Heavy Equipment with Operators, to McGill Construction, LLC, Group A and B, in an amount not to exceed $3,775,803.00. Unanimously approved.

Will Lioux @LiouxW 17/22

Roll call for Item 19: Authority to award Contract 25-690-11, Beneficial Reuse of Biosolids from LASMA and CALSMA, Groups A and B, to Stewart Spreading, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $29,134,900.00. Approved with Commissioner Waller being the only no vote.

Will Lioux @LiouxW 18/22

The consent agenda of all remaining items on the table today is being read out by the clerk. Seems routine business of the Board with every Commissioner voting yes.

Will Lioux @LiouxW 19/22

The meeting is in a recess now and shall return to the Board's Executive Session soon. Stay tuned!

Will Lioux @LiouxW 20/22

The regular board meeting of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board of Commissioners has resumed after an hour-long lunch recess.

Will Lioux @LiouxW 21/22

Another flurry of St Patrick's Day-adjacent comments. Commissioners are talking about their and each other's Irish heritage. Separately, Vice President Flynn also mentioned on a positive note that a stormwater-related lawsuit filed against the District has been dismissed.

Will Lioux @LiouxW 22/22

The meeting was adjourned at 1:10 pm. This concludes my live-tweeting for today's regular meeting of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago for #CHIdocumenters @CHIdocumenters

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Attachments

4 attachments

MWRD board meetings

By Rachel, Chicago - IL Documenters Team ⋅ March 6th, 2025

Agenda

March 6th, 2025

Video

March 6th, 2025

Minutes

March 6th, 2025

Agency Information

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

mwrd.org

(312) 751-6633

public.affairs@mwrd.org

@MWRDGC

See Documenters reporting

Created in 1889 as the Sanitary District of Chicago, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) today is a special-purpose district responsible for treating wastewater and providing stormwater management for residents and businesses in its service area, which encompasses 882.1 square miles and includes Chicago and 128 suburban communities throughout Cook County.

The MWRD serves approximately 10.35 million people each day, including 5.25 million residents of Chicago and 128 suburban communities. To learn more about the agency’s management structure and departments, click here.