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Great Lakes
Article:
ComEd
vows to halt outages affecting lakefront sewage site
At
NSSD pumping station: Sewage at Lake Bluff plant spilled
into Lake Michigan
Ed Collins
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS
SUN
12/06/2002
GURNEE -In a progress report to trustees of the
North Shore Sanitary District, ComEd personnel have given
assurances that appropriate steps are under way to prevent
future power outages at the district's Lake Bluff sewage
pumping station.
District trustees took ComEd to task in
October after two major power outages this year shut down
NSSD pumps for several hours causing raw sewage to spill
into Lake Michigan. The district complained to the Illinois
Commerce Commission about ComEd's delay in promptly restoring
service.
Mike Lopez, ComEd's senior account manager,
was at Monday's meeting and outlined several recent activities
that his company has taken to correct the problem.
Lopez said his technicians have completed
a thorough review of all pumping station switches and
connections from ComEd's main power line feeders, and
upgraded equipment where necessary.
In addition, the company is also clearing
tree limbs and brush away from critical power lines to
avoid tree limb storm damage. ComEd is also working with
district personnel to implement the use of two new portable
emergency generators early next year.
Lopez said better methods of communicating
between NSSD and ComEd's key personnel have also been
instituted, allowing for quicker power restoration services
in the future.
"We realize the importance of providing
reliable service to your pumping plants," he said, adding
Com Ed employees are well aware district service levels
need to be improved.
NSSD General Manager Brian Jensen told trustees
ComEd has made a good start. However more needs to be
done, Jensen said.
Jensen indicated the district has had 10
power outages at the Lake Bluff plant over the past eight
years. He said the resulting sewage spills caused by the
pump shutdowns, and ComEd's delay in making repairs, spoils
the environment and makes the NSSD look bad in the eyes
of the public.
In a reorganization of the NSSD board for
the coming year, John Paxton of Winthrop Harbor, representing
Ward 1, was elected board president. Paxton has been serving
as the board's vice president and was NSSD president twice
before. He replaces James Swarthout, of Ward 4, Lake Forest.
Paxton is a retired Zion insurance and real
estate executive who is a strong supporter for closing
the district's Zion landfill and recycling the district's
waste sludge into a glass-type aggregate at the Waukegan
lakefront. The end product would be commercially sold
for road construction.
New trustees seated were Steve Drew, replacing
Mark Hawn in Ward 2, and John Jurkovac Sr., replacing
Eddie Washington, in Ward 3. Both are Waukegan residents.
Trustees voted to revise their 2003 meeting
schedule. They plan to meet at the district's Gurnee headquarters
on the second Wednesday of each month, alternating times
between 8:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. meetings. The first meeting
of the new year will be Jan. 8 at 8:30 a.m.
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