CITY OF BATAVIA

100 North Island Avenue, Batavia, Illinois 60510

Phone: (630) 879-1424 Fax: (630) 879-0710

NOV

052004

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City

Administrator

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RANDALL R. RECKLAUS

Assistant City Administrator

M. HANNAH VOLK

City Clerk

JOHN S. NOBLE

City Attorney

2 November 2004

Ms. Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk

Illinois Pollution Control Board

James R. Thompson Center

100 West Randolph Street

Suite 11-5000

Chicago, IL 60601

Dear Ms. Gunn:

Re: Docket No. R-04-02 1

Revisions to RadiumWater Quality Standards

The City ofBatavia in Kane County operates a public water supply. Water from deep wells (radium tainted) and

shallow wells is used to supply our customers with drinking water. The combined radium 226 and 228 level in our

deep well water can be as high as 20+ pCiIL (pico-curies per liter). Batavia’s chosen treatment method for radium

removal from the deep wells will be to utilize the HMO (hydrous manganese oxide) adsorption and filtration

process. This method requires that the radium removed from the water after treatment be discharged to the sanitaty

sewer system. Sanitary sewer service is provided to our drinking water plant by the Batavia Waste Water

Treatment Plant. The waste water plant discharges their effluent to the Fox River.

The City ofBatavia supports the approval ofthe proposal to implement revised water quality standards for radium

concentrations in the waste stream, as the approval will allow for continued operation of our drinking water supply

system.

The City ofBatavia is spending in excess of

$15

million to gaincompliance with the radium standard for drinking

water. Our water rate payers have seen water rates increase almost 100 to pay for these improvements.

I appreciate the opportunity to provide comments to the Illinois Pollution Control Board on this important issue to

our community.

Sincerely,

n K. Dillon

Water/Sewer Superintendent

JKD dis

c: Bill McGrath

Gary Larsen