Iowa Town Agrees to Address Discharges of Untreated Sewage to Mississippi River

Jan. 6, 2011
City of Keokuk must submit long-term plan on improving sewer system

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 and the city of Keokuk, Iowa, have reached an agreement by which the city will improve its combined sewer system over the next 20 years, reducing discharges of hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage to the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

Under an administrative compliance order on consent, filed in Kansas City, Kan., Keokuk will submit to EPA and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) a long-term control plan for improving its sewers to reduce overflows. The plan is due no later than Dec. 31, 2012.

Once approved by EPA and IDNR, Keokuk must complete the implementation of all terms of the order, including requirements related to the long-term control plan, no later than Dec. 31, 2030.

"This resolution will clean the water that sustains Keokuk's future and produce real benefits for everyone who depends on the nation's most important river, the great Mississippi,” EPA Regional Administrator Karl Brooks said. “I commend the people of Keokuk, and their leaders, for taking measurable action that secures the future of their key water resource and recognizes our obligations today to make water system investments for the future."

Keokuk was required to develop a long-term control plan in 2002, when IDNR issued the city a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. Keokuk submitted a draft plan in 2006, but it failed to include dates for implementation and completion. EPA has been working with city officials in Keokuk to approve a plan since 2007.

An inspection by EPA in late November and early December 2010 found that Keokuk had violated conditions of its NPDES permit by failing to operate and maintain its wastewater treatment facilities in good working order, allowing for overflows of raw sewage from the collection system to waters of the U.S. and private property, and the diversion of waste streams from its wastewater treatment works into the waters of the U.S.

Since 2006, Keokuk has proceeded to complete several sewer separation projects without a final approved long-term control plan. Those projects include the elimination of one outfall, the replacement of the Bank Street lift station and force main, the completion of sewer separation associated with the Grand Avenue and Boulevard Road project, and completion of a sewer separation project for Belknap Place, Belknap Boulevard and McKinley and Timea streets, at a combined cost of more than $2 million.

Initial projections by the city of Keokuk to implement the long-term control plan are estimated to be between $60 million and $100 million for total separation of the combined sewer system.

Source: U.S. EPA

Sponsored Recommendations

Blower Package Integration

March 20, 2024
See how an integrated blower package can save you time, money, and energy, in a wastewater treatment system. With package integration, you have a completely integrated blower ...

Strut Comparison Chart

March 12, 2024
Conduit support systems are an integral part of construction infrastructure. Compare steel, aluminum and fiberglass strut support systems.

Energy Efficient System Design for WWTPs

Feb. 7, 2024
System splitting with adaptive control reduces electrical, maintenance, and initial investment costs.

Blower Isentropic Efficiency Explained

Feb. 7, 2024
Learn more about isentropic efficiency and specific performance as they relate to blowers.