New Sewer Construction

Before Construction

If you are planning a development and want to connect to the Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District, contact Executive Director Mark Eddington, P.E., as early as possible in your plans. He can help you identify the District and EPA rules, regulations, and procedures you need to follow to keep your project moving on schedule.

Annexation or Pre-Annexation

If you want to connect your property to the Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District but the property lies outside the District’s boundaries, you can apply for annexation or pre-annexation.

Property contiguous to the District can apply for annexation. Property that is near the District, but not contiguous, can petition for pre-annexation. Annexations must be approved by the Board of Trustees and are subject to a fee of $3,000 per acre to offset the cost of expanding the collection system.

Plan Review

The District will meet with the developer for an initial concept meeting at no cost to go over the developer’s vision for the project.

Throughout the design phase, District staff will review and comment on plans to help you ensure your development will meet all the necessary standards and regulations. We will assess the quantity of wastewater the development may produce and the concentration of biological oxygen demand, total suspended solids, and nitrogen ammonia that can be anticipated. This review is to determine if downstream sewers and the treatment plant can handle the additional load.

If there is a possibility certain chemicals or heavy metals might be present in the wastewater, pretreatment may be required to keep these dangerous pollutants out of the environment. If a discharge permit is required, the wastewater from the facility will be regularly tested to make sure it is within the limits of its permit.

Plan review fees are charged based on the size and complexity of the project.

Once the District signs off on sewer construction permits, you must still get approval from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. The IEPA permit comes with a fee, and the permit process can take up to 40 days.

Upon submission of the formal plans, a nonrefundable administrative fee of at least $1,000 is due.

During Construction

The District will install isolation plugs to protect the existing sewer main from water and debris during the construction process. The plugs cannot be removed until the new sewers have passed their final inspection. Tampering with the isolation plugs is a crime punishable by fines and arrest.

The District will monitor construction to ensure the developer is adhering to minimum accepted standards set by the District and the state of Illinois. At a minimum, new construction must follow the standards under the Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District Standard Details, the Illinois Design Standards for Sewage Works, and the Standard Specifications for Water and Sewer Main Construction in Illinois.

After Construction (Before Acceptance)

When construction is complete, the new system will be inspected before it is accepted. Testing and inspection will include low-pressure air testing of sewer piping and laterals, manhole integrity testing, deflection testing on all flexible pipe, and pipe televising. The developer is responsible for the costs of all quality assurance tests.

Each new connection to the sewer main is subject to a connection fee of $600 per P.E. to offset the cost to the treatment plant of handling the additional load.

The developer must submit two sets of record drawings which indicate the final placement and actual materials used. The record drawings must include:

• The rim and invert elevations of each manhole
• The percent grade, size, pipe material, and distance between manholes
• The distance from a defined manhole to each service "Y" or "T"
• The location of laterals at lot property lines, measures from lot line pins
• Size and material(s) of laterals
• KWRD Standard Details

If a development's sanitary infrastructure is to be dedicated and accepted by KWRD, the developer must provide the costs associated with installing the system so they can be reported to the Governmental Accountability Standards Board.