Dixon to receive $4M in stimulus: Interest-free loan to help pay for water treatment facilities

DIXON – The flow of economic stimulus cash has found its way here in the form of a $4.1 million loan to pay for new water treatment facilities in the city’s ongoing struggle to meet environmental standards.

Dixon was one of four cities – along with Pecatonica, Rockford and LaMoille – to receive the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money, which was distributed by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to target drinking water improvements and the handling of waste water.

Specifically, the money will be used to complete phase II construction of new treatment facilities at wells 6 and 8, which will bring the city into compliance with IEPA radium and arsenic limits. 

Under the terms of the Recovery Act, DUnder the terms of the Recovery Act, Dixon will receive a 20-year loan at zero interest, of which it will have to pay back only 75 percent of the principal.

“Over a period of 20 years, this loan will help Dixon a lot,” Mayor Jim Burke said. “It could save our taxpayers more than $1 million, and we will pass that savings on to the taxpayers with adjusted water rates.”

The amount of arsenic in Dixon’s water is not much higher than it always has been, but the EPA lowered the acceptable level in January 2008. That change caused well 8’s levels to be considered unacceptable.

In a letter sent to Dixon residents last year, the EPA noted that the arsenic level in Dixon’s water “is not an immediate risk. ... Some people who drink water containing arsenic in excess ... over many years could experience skin damage or problems with their circulatory system, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer.”

Likewise, the presence of radium – which has been an ongoing problem in Dixon’s wells – does not pose “an immediate risk to residents, according to the EPA, but prolonged exposure to excessive amounts may increase the risk of cancer.

Work on wells 6 and 8 likely will be completed in about a year, City Engineer Shawn Ortgiesen has said.