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TO: Mayor John Laesch
FROM: Robert Leible, Superintendent of Water Production
DATE: August 27, 2026
SUBJECT:
A Resolution authorizing the City of Aurora to accept a grant award of $160,200.00 under a grant agreement with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
PURPOSE:
To obtain City Council approval for acceptance of grant funding via the Public Water Supply Energy Efficiency Grant Program, agreement No. PWS26201 (27-3312-23863), for the Water Production Division.
BACKGROUND:
The Public Water Supply Energy Efficiency Grant Program offers grant funding for the development and completion of energy efficiency projects at public water supply facilities. The original source of funding is federal via the US Department of Energy Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) State Energy Program. The purpose of this grant program is to enable units of local government to make energy efficiency upgrades to equipment identified from an energy audit. This is the second such grant applied for and awarded to the Water Production Division. The grant agreement/document is attached.
The awarded funding will support the costs for the replacement/upsizing of one existing finished water pump at the water treatment plant. More specifically, High Pressure Pump #3 was previously identified to be upsized from its original design capacity to increase the available capacity to pump finished water to the high-pressure portion of the water distribution system. The grant funding will reimburse project costs associated with 1) contracted electrical work to upgrade/modify the electrical system to accommodate the larger pump/motor combination as well as installation of variable frequency drive (VFD) pump control; 2) purchase of a new pump for the increase in capacity, and 3) acquisition of a larger horsepower motor for the pump. Replacement of the original constant-speed pump with VFD control and an upsized, higher efficiency pump increases pumping capacity, enhances s...
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