(Radio Iowa) – A D-N-R program where experts visit Iowa wastewater treatment plants and find ways to help them improve is going to continue. D-N-R Water Quality Resource Coordinator Adam Schnieders says they work with a Connecticut company.
“The contract will provide specialized technical consulting, remote coaching, and in-person training to help six municipal wastewater treatment plants optimize their processes. Main goals are to reduce point source nutrient discharges, nitrogen and phosphorus, into our waterways and lower energy consumption,” he says. They can spend up to 200-thousand dollars over two years with E-P-A funding from the Gulf Hypoxia Program.
“The project directly supports implementation of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy and the Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan. So just wanted to provide us, this will be an expanded effort from what we’ve done the last three years through 2022 to 2024,” Schneiders says. He says they’ve seen some good success.
“Atlantic is noted there, that’s our prior most noteworthy participant in this optimization work that we’ve done. I’ll highlight some of their success, but they’ve been our best performing wastewater treatment plant as far as nutrient removal the last two years running for both nitrogen and phosphorus,” he says. Schneiders says Atlantic reduced nitrogen by 97 percent and phosphorus by 89 percent while also seeing eight-thousand dollars in energy cost savings by implementing recommended operational changes.
Others that saw improvement are Clinton, Carroll, Dyersville, Eagle Grove, Anamosa, Sioux City, Coralville, Jefferson and Eldora.
The Environmental Protection Commission gave approval to continue the program during their recent meeting.
