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homerhorizon.com NEWS
the Homer Horizon | April 19, 2018 | 9
From april 15
Body of missing
former LTHS
student found in
Des Plaines River
Joe Coughlin, Publisher
A body found in the Des
Plaines River
Friday, April
13, is that of a
Lockport man
missing since
March 21, according
to the Joy
Will County
Coroner’s Office.
Sean Joy, 20, was reported
missing by his family from
Lockport. On Wednesday,
April 11, an unidentified leg
was found in the Lockport
Locks portion of the Des
Plaines River. Two days
later, Joliet first-responders
found the rest of the body in
the river.
According to the coroner’s
office, dental comparisons
confirmed the body belonged
to Joy.
When Joy was reported
missing, his sister Alison
said, “It’s unexpected,” Alison
said. “He’s never said
anything like he wants to run
away or anything. [It’s] pretty
kind of out of the blue.”
On Sunday, March 25,
police heard from a witness
that a man was walking
March 22 on 9th Street
at State Street going westbound
toward Romeoville,
according to Lockport Police
Department Detective
Sgt. John Arizzi, who is
working on the case.
According to the coroner’s
office, the investigation
into Joy’s death is ongoing.
For more on this and other
Breaking News, visit Homer
Horizon.com.
Illinois American Water begins improvements to Chickasaw Hills facility
Reclamation sites will be
reduced from three to two
Thomas Czaja, Editor
Illinois American Water has announced
the start of improvements
to the Chickasaw Hills Water Reclamation
Facility located in Homer
Glen.
Construction got underway recently
at the facility located at Parker
Road and Seminole Trail and is
scheduled to last through fall 2019,
according to a press release from Illinois
American Water and Mayor
George Yukich in his Mayor’s Blog
from early April.
IAW owns and operates Chickasaw
Hills, as well as two other water
reclamation facilities in Homer
Glen named Oak Valley and Derby
Meadows. Each facility was built in
the 1970s before the Village’s incorporation
in 2001 and prior to when
IAW began service in 2002, IAW
Vice President of Operations Michael
Smyth said.
“This is a very important project
for us and very exciting for
us,” Smyth said. “Improvements
will allow the company to provide
high-quality wastewater service to
customers in Homer Glen, as well
as continue to meet ever-expanding
environmental regulations.”
Smyth said that IAW planned on
originally reconstructing both the
Chickasaw Hills and Derby Meadows
facilities about eight or nine
years ago, but after receiving feedback
from the Village and residents,
looked at alternative ways to address
“needed investment.”
In 2010, there was a $13.1-million
investment for modernizing the Oak
Valley water reclamation facility for
its aging infrastructure and to have
more strict regulatory discharge requirements.
After what Smyth said was an extensive
engineering study, it was decided
reducing the water reclamation
facilities from three to two would be
the best for lowering investment and
long-term operating costs. The decision
to convert Derby Meadows
into a pumping station and wastewater
treatment being regionalized at
Illinois American Water has begun construction to make improvements at the Chickasaw Hills Water Reclamation
Facility it owns and operates in Homer Glen. The work is expected to last through fall 2019. SUBMITTED BY Illinois
American Water
Chickasaw Hills was then made.
The cost for the work at Chickasaw
Hills is approximately $20 million,
per IAW. Smyth added residents
will not initially see an increase on
the wastewater portion of their bills,
since any change would have to still
go through a rate case adjustment,
which is regulated by the Illinois
Commerce Commission in a lengthy
11-month process requiring extensive
documentation and reasoning.
“Obviously, the investment in our
systems is very significant,” Smyth
said. “What we’ve done is requested
assistance from the Village to work
with State legislature or potentially
on the federal level to look for grants
for investment costs for the project,
and, in turn, that would mitigate any
impact to a customer’s bill.”
During a March 2017 webinar
with residents that explained water
bill costs and answered general
questions from the community, IAW
said construction for Chickasaw
Hills renovations were expected to
begin late last year.
The delay in not starting until recently
came in wanting to make sure
things were being done thoroughly,
Smyth said.
“The amount of planning that takes
place on a project of this magnitude,
and our desire to make sure we are
fulfilling the need of the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency, resulted
in starting a little bit later than
we wanted,” Smyth said.
Now that work has commenced,
with IAW working with the Village
and environmental advocacy groups
in an effort to meet community and
environment objectives, the plan is
that this Chickasaw Hills investment
will lead to savings down the
road.
“We understand this is the most
cost-effective, long-term approach,”
Smyth said.
Following the work at Chickasaw
Hills, the conversion at Derby Meadows
is slated to take place. IAW plans
to send a mailer out to residents who
live nearest to the Chickasaw Hills
facility.
Residents who wish to learn more
about the ICC process and regulation
of water and sewer service can
find details on the Village website,
according to Yukich. The mayor
said the ICC followed up a conference
call meeting last month with a
summary of procedures, which is the
information detailed online.
A summary of regulation, how
the commission sets rates for water
utilities, a history of water rate cases
pertaining to Homer Glen and how
residents can voice concerns and
contact commissioners can be found
at www.homerglenil.org/2541/ICC-
Regulation-of-Water-Sewer.
In addition, a comment form
on water and sewer service is on
the Village website for residents,
which is meant for feedback for the
Village Board, and can be found
at www.homerglenil.org/forms.
aspx?FID=92.
Residents can also submit written
comments on the ICC’s website,
which can be done so at www.
icc.illinois.gov/consumer/Commen
tOnACase.aspx. A complaint about
utility service can be sent to the
ICC’s Consumer Services Division
at www.icc.illinois.gov/complaints.
The ICC can also be reached via
phone 8:30 a.m. through 5 p.m.
Monday through Friday by calling
1-(800) 524-0795, 1-(217) 782-2024
or TTY at 1-(800) 858-9277.
Finally, more on the major reconstruction
that has begun at the
Chickasaw Hills Water Reclamation
Facility can be found on the Village’s
site at www.homerglenil.org/
CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=344.