CITY OF ROCK ISLAND
Central Wastewater System and Treatment Facility

Varela client since 2003

The city’s challenge
Rock Island’s sewer needs had always been met by individual septic systems, which is all well and good until those systems start degrading and contaminating the drinking water. The city fathers had anticipated this problem and talked about the need for a central sewer system for decades. The problem, of course, was funding – and the threat to the city’s drinking water was only getting worse.

How Varela helped
Based on Varela’s reputation for both technical and funding savvy, the city hired us to develop an overall strategy for kick-starting the city’s forward motion. Varela started with a basic feasibility and needs assessment to answer the basic question, “Is a central sewer system needed?” The work provided the baseline answer:

• feasibility studies, in-depth evaluation, planning, design and funding acquisition
• a $10 million funding package with $7.5 million in grants and $2.5 million in loans – 75 percent grant dropped the estimated sewer rates from $250/month to below $70/month.
• creative thinking, technical savvy, and relentless perseverance on the part of key city officials and Varela staff resulted in an affordable solution
• hours of brainstorming with city officials and funding and regulatory agencies structured a workable plan assembling all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle

What the city accomplished
Rock Island’s partnership with Varela & Associates produced an end result that many people thought could not be achieved in today’s economy: a completely new central sewer system funded through 75 percent grants and legislative earmarks. Varela worked hand-in-hand with the city to produce the following results:

• installation of 26,000 lineal feet of sewer main serving 100 percent of the city
• central lift station conveying wastewater from the collection system to the treatment plant
• extended aeration-activated sludge treatment plant with capacity to serve Rock Island plus an increase in population of 100 percent
• installation of private side sewers and decommissioning of the onsite septic systems; and financed through the project and costs incorporated into a single sewer bill