By E. Lynn Grayson

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has signed into law new legislation conserving clean drinking water by permitting wider use options for treated wastewater. Pursuant to H.B. 248, the North Shore Sanitary District (NSSD) would be permitted to enter into agreements to supply treated wastewater to any public or private entity within or outside the boundaries of the sanitary district, subject to the orders of the Illinois Pollution Control Board.

Governor Quinn said the recycled water is well suited to golf courses and irrigation projects that use huge volumes of water that does not need to meet drinking water standards. The new legislation amends the North Shore Sanitary District Act. The new law (P.A. 97-500) becomes effective immediately.

The NSSD is a municipal body which was organized in 1914 under the North Shore Sanitary District Act of 1911. The NSSD owns and operates more than 100 miles of intercepting sewer lines and pumping stations which collect and convey wastewater from local sewer systems to Sewage Treatment Plants (STP's) in Gurnee, Waukegan, and Highland Park, Illinois. Additional NSSD facilities include the NSSD Sludge Recycling Facility in Zion, the Administration Building and Laboratory in Gurnee, and the Maintenance Building in Waukegan.