Background-Challenge
The water supply and treatment system of the Village of Park Forest
faced several issues. The existing treatment units at the Water Treatment
Plant were old and overloaded, and their treatment effectiveness
continued to deteriorate in spite of extensive maintenance. The quality
of Park Forest’s drinking water was never in question. However, the
plant was over 50 years old and had become inefficient and outdated.
Additionally, the process waste generated had caused compliance problems
with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Baxter & Woodman was
retained to provide design and construction services for a new lime-soda
ash water softening plant for the Village of Park Forest, Illinois.  

Solution
A new plant was designed using modern day technologies to efficiently
soften the water and manage the solids produced in a lime-soda ash plant.
An integral part of this design was to keep the existing plant in operation
throughout the construction of the new facility. Careful consideration and a
detailed plan resulted in an effective means of maintaining water supply for
the Village of Park Forest. This project was designed in an abbreviated time
frame in order to ensure it as a candidate for participation in the Illinois Safe
Drinking Water Act Revolving Loan Fund.

The improvements included the following items:
   • Water distribution system evaluation
   • Sludge dewatering equipment pilot testing
   • New treatment plant design using lime softening process
   • Existing reservoir modifications
   • Existing dewatered sludge removal
   • Plant operation during construction
   • Groundwater quality clarifiers
   • Sodium hypochlorite onsite generation
   • Safety and security considerations

Sustainable Design—The new water plant will result in improved efficiency
with the new state of the art equipment and facilities. The recycle of the
waste stream water within the plant helps conserve our groundwater resource.

This project was highlighted in the April edition of the Illinois Municipal Review. 

Click here to read the article.