PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Next week Peoria City council will vote on a consent decree with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the State of Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) to rectify the longstanding sewage overflow issues in the city.

For 14 years the city, Greater Peoria Sanitary District (GPSD), EPA and IEPA have been negotiating a settlement to the agencies’ claims that Peoria and GPSD violated the Clean Water Act.

Combined, sewers collect and carry sewage and stormwater or runoff. Usually, the sewers carry both to the wastewater plant for treatment, but after heavy rain or snowmelt storm, water overwhelms the system.

Then, the untreated sewage is released into the Illinois River.

This is called Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) and it happens between 20 to 30 times a year.