Sustainable and Green Solutions to The City of Peoria Combined Sewer Overflow Problems

In late 2005, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) performed a “wet-weather inspection” in Peoria, Illinois. They determined that the City needed to make improvements to the combined sewer system (CSO). Further, in 2006, USEPA and the Department of Justice (DOJ) found the city of Peoria in violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA), and offered to enter into a tolling agreement, in lieu of filing suit. The City signed the first tolling agreement. The DOJ would file suit unless the City agreed in principle to a 10-year, peak storm level of control for the entire CSO area. The DOJ suggested a $230 million, 4-mile tunnel option as an affordable solution. The solution involved permeable pavement and other green solutions. This paper presents the proposed sustainable and green solution to the CSO problem in Peoria. The City of Peoria pursued an imaginative approach to initiate a new green strategy and sustainable methodologies to address its CSO challenges. Generally, gray infrastructure is cheaper than green infrastructure in the short-term, the green infrastructure becomes cost competitive in the long term. Green infrastructure has other benefits, including better aesthetics and an opportunity to rebuild visible infrastructure such as roads and parking lots, while addressing the CSO mandates from the USEPA and DOJ at the same time. The expected cost for the proposed green solution is $200 million to $300 million. This paper also provides an overview of the proposed green solutions and the revenues needed to pay for the CSO project.