SANITARY SEWER

SANITARY SEWER. From 1848 through 1958, Dubuque, like other river communities, pumped its sewage directly into the MISSISSIPPI RIVER. In 1875, for example, individuals dumped their "night soil" in the slough near the railroad bridge. The problem, according to the Dubuque Herald, was that they scattered it along the shore and not directly into the water. (1) In 1876 the Dubuque Herald editorial staff complained that teamsters were emptying their wagons full of offal from the packing plants near shore in the winter and not over the frozen channel where the current would carry it away in the spring. (2)

Individual privies on private property also caused problems. In 1877 the Dubuque Herald reported on the death of two workmen. After digging a new vault next to an outhouse, the men had become asphyxiate by gas when the earthen wall between the two pits collapsed. In August 1877 a privy vault on Julien Avenue near Air Hill soaked through to the surface and was "causing a sickening smell." (3) Privies were not always safe. Two women entered a privy together causing the floor to collapse sending both women "sinking into offal up to their necks. (4) WATER DEPARTMENT officials, concerned with health issues, also checked to see that privies were not located near wells.

Individual privies were also used as a site for disposal of household garbage. One of the more interesting examples of this was the disappearing spoon of Jesse P. FARLEY. On Thanksgiving, 1867 a silver spoon valued at $12.00 disappeared from the family's table service. No accusations were made, but no answer could be given. In the fall of 1878 the Farley vault was cleaned out and the material dumped into the river. On December 6, 1879 a boy fishing in the river pulled the spoon to the surface. It was then deduced that the spoon had been carried out of the house with waste material and thrown into the privy years earlier. As the Dubuque Herald writer commented, "Cast your valuables into a vault and you may probably find them after many days." (5) [Note: The St. Louis Museum has a large display of items including toys, money, and valuable glass jars (antiques) found in excavated vaults around the city.]

In 1878 the Dubuque Herald carried a long editorial about the need to solve the sewage issue. It said, in part,

             But it is not generally conceded that where a city will
             admit of a sewage system that will afford perfect drainage,
             that its adoption is by all means better in a sanitary
             point of view than cesspools located on every residence 
             lot as a receptacle for all the filth which time
             accumulates. The deleterious effects arising from thousands
             of these pestilence breeding hot houses spread spread board-
             cast through any community must be apparent to all...It is
             a well established fact that these (private) wells serve as
             reservoirs which are which are continuously drawing poisonous
             matter from privy vaults...Person who draw water from these
             wells every day may, from the fact of habitual use, not
             notice its noxious taste or odor, but a stranger will at the
             first sip.

The editorial went on to note that a sewage system would need a flow of water to carry the "filth" to a common outlet. At the time, the water works, however, was owned by a private corporation making the provision of water expensive. The writers suggested that the elected officials might consider digging several artesian wells. (6) In the same month, Mayor Knight said the ordinance would be enforced that required citizens to construct cesspools who now used the public sewers for drainage purposes. (7)

To eliminate the deposit on wastes close to the shoreline, the Board of Health purchased a scow in 1880. This would be used to carry "filth from the city to the deep water of the river channel. (8)

Sewage was later pumped through five pipes leading directly to the Mississippi. (9) In 1914 residents of Dubuque living west of Grandview and south of Delhi were so insistent on having a sewer system that the city council passed a resolution instructing City Engineer E. C. Blake to draw up plans. It was thought at the time that the residences were in an area that could not be linked to the city's sewer system. The only means of handling this sewage was pumping it through a "circuitous" route to CATFISH CREEK and through private property outside the city limits. (10) Completed in 1930 the new West Dubuque sewer system cost just short of $81,000 and served all the residents with the exception of Fremont Avenue. (11)

In 1931 Dr. W. J. Connell, the city health director, reported that 90% of all dwellings in the city were connected to the sanitary sewer system. (12)

In 1958 the city opened a small primary treatment plant along CATFISH CREEK. This facility did little other than to remove large pieces which were not treated. This sludge was vacuumed filtered to remove water, but it remained moist and smelled. The urine, detergents, sugar, salt, and 75% of the organic material continued on to the river without treatment. (13) When the city found no way of handling the sludge, it contracted with CULLEN-SCHILTZ & ASSOCIATES of Dubuque and Henningson, Durham, and Richardson of Omaha, Nebraska to build a new plant capable of removing and burning the sludge.

The consultants came to the city with a three-step program. Phase 1, estimated at $4 million called for the construction of a new plant, replacement of equipment at the Cedar Street pumping station, a new pumping station at Catfish Creek and several new sewage lines. Phase 2, scheduled for 1972 at a cost of $1.7 million, included additional equipment at the plant to improve volume and increase removal capacity. Phase 3, at a cost of $1.2 and scheduled for 1978, called for a new Couler Valley interceptor sewer and a new Terminal Valley pumping station. (14)

In 1966 with no federal directives on the treatment of sewage, Dubuque became the first city on the upper Mississippi to consider construction of a plant. (15) City staff chose to concentrate on the handling of disease-causing bacteria with partial secondary treatment and chlorination rather than removing high amounts of organic materials through a secondary treatment. (16) The plant was designed for 10.5 million gallons of sewage flow; 104,685 pounds of organic material; and 101,450 pounds of suspended solids daily. The estimated organic material removal was 80-85%. Contracts were signed with the DUBUQUE PACKING COMPANY and CELOTEX CORPORATION specifying limits on flow, organic material and solids. (17)

During the construction of the plant, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued new water quality standards called for the removal of 90% of the organic material.

The plant became obsolete at the same time it was being overloaded. (18) On some days sewage flow exceeded 15 million gallons and organic counts rose above 200,000. As the trickling filters became unable to operate, odors began drifting over Julien Dubuque Drive, South Grandview, and Mount Carmel. Instead of 80-85% removal as planned, the plant removed less than 60%. (19) Negotiations with the Pack and Celotex resulted in flow levels being returned to agreed levels by 1972.

Odors continued to affect the south end of Dubuque. To solve the problem, domes were constructed over the plant's exposed parts. The captured odors were treated with potassium permanganate.

In the spring of 1972 the EPA issued a new set of standards. Although phrased in different language, the rules required almost a 97% removal of organic material. The EPA paid 55% of the cost of pollution control, states paid 25% and cities paid 20%. Heavy industrial contributors were required to pay their share of the local 20%. (20) Faced with large costs, the Pack devised its own primary treatment operation at its plant which reduced its organic load from 45,000 to 10,000 pounds. (21)

In 1973 the City of Dubuque and Asbury signed a sewage treatment agreement after months of debate. Under the agreement, Dubuque would treat the sewage to pass through Asbury's soon-to-be-built sanitary sewer system at a rate 1.5 times that paid by a Dubuque homeowner. (22)

By 1974 the Dubuque sewage treatment plant was processing some of the strongest sewage in Iowa. The highly industrial waste was so potent that treating it was equivalent to handling the residential waste of 500,000 people. (23) To handle the problem, the Dubuque City Council in November 1974 was asked to make the largest capital expenditure in Dubuque's history--$14 to $16 million for a sewage treatment improvement program. (24)

In the 1980s city inspectors checked 960 homes for illegal connections to the sanitary sewer. (25) Following strong rain storms, Dubuque's Water Pollution Control Plant by 1995 was often overwhelmed with water allowing pollutants to enter the Mississippi. Parts of the city's sanitary sewer system overflowed flooding homes and businesses. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources ordered the city to find points of infiltration of storm water into the system. In response, the city asked more than 1,100 homeowners to have officials inspect their properties. Inspections found sixty sump pumps linked to the sanitary sewer. (26)

Iowa Department of Natural Resources officials in August 1991 fined the city of Dubuque $1,000 for poor supervision of its pre-treatment program. The city's largest industries were required to pre-treat their waste before sending it into the sanitary sewer system. City officials did not contest the fine and announced that the waste-water treatment facility, fined for problems in its industrial waste pre-treatment program, would be in compliance with state regulations in 1992. The DNR report stated the city had not renewed necessary permits, inspected on-site treatment facilities or carried out a required industrial waste survey of industries. The DNR found the city was late in submitting its annual report and had received untreated waste from at least one-non-permitted industry--Inland Barge Company which had illegally duped at least 27,000 gallons of untreated molasses into the wastewater treatment plant. (27)

The State Preserves Advisory Board decided in 1997 to allow a construction permit for a proposed sewer line that clipped the corner of the MINES OF SPAIN RECREATION AREA. The line would run up Granger Creek to Lake Eleanor Road and serve the Dubuque Industrial Center South and sections of Mosalem and Table Mound townships. City officials worked closely with representatives of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to address environmental concerns. (28)

The Dubuque City Council in 2001 revised the sanitary sewer connection policy. The policy revisions were intended to reduce costs for the city and residents who had to pay up to 15% of their property's value to be connected. The city paid for any additional costs. The revisions allowed city staff to be sure a low bid for the work was chosen. The city staff could also chose the alignment of the connection to limit the city's exposure to non-sewer costs. Property owners were to meet with city staff within 45 days of being notified they were to connect to the sanitary sewer. This would allow appraisers to determine the value of property that varied from its assessed value. (29)

In 2011 Dubuque's Engineering Department performed another round of targeted smoke testing of the sanitary sewer system as part of the Inflow and Infiltration Reduction Program. The program was designed to help reduce the amount of rainwater and groundwater that entered the sewer system. (30)

In April 2011 the City of Dubuque, Iowa, agreed to pay a $205,000 civil penalty and spend an additional $3 million on improvements to its water pollution control plant and sewer collection system over the next three years to settle a series of alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act. (31)

As part of the settlement outlined by a consent decree, the City of Dubuque would pay half of the civil penalty to the United States, and half to the State of Iowa, which was a co-plaintiff in the case. Dubuque also agreed to spend approximately $260,000 on a supplemental environmental project. The project would involve the reconstruction of four alleys that incorporate permeable pavement in their design, which would help reduce the flow of storm water into the city’s sewer system.

Dubuque’s violations of its National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit dated back to the early 1970s, when its water pollution control plant was built. Dubuque’s violations of its NPDES permit and the Clean Water Act identified by EPA and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources included:

          Approximately 39 sanitary sewer overflows which occurred 
          between 2002 and 2007. Most of those unauthorized overflows 
          occurred in an area known as the Key Way sanitary sewer 
          system, and involved the pumping of raw sewage into Catfish 
          Creek during major storms. Over the last three years, Dubuque 
          had already spent $2 million to upgrade the Key Way system. 
          Under the consent decree, it had to demonstrate that all 
          sanitary sewer overflows had been eliminated for one year, 
          or face additional penalties.

          Approximately 687 violations of effluent limits for total 
          suspended solids, total residual chlorine and carbonaceous 
          biochemical oxygen demand in its wastewater discharges 
          between 2002 and 2007. The consent decree outlined a number 
          of system and process improvements designed to eliminate 
          exceedences associated with wet weather, and required the 
          city to pay stipulated penalties for future effluent violations.

          Failures to comply with a pre-treatment program. Audits in 
          2005 and 2007 found that Dubuque failed to issue permits to 
          industrial users of its water pollution control plant, failed 
          to take enforcement actions against industrial users that 
          violated terms of their city-issued permits, and failed to 
          follow sampling and reporting requirements of its pre-treatment
          program. Since those audits, the city hired a full-time 
          pre-treatment coordinator.

In October 2013 the Water and Resource Recovery Center, Dubuque's newly completed wastewater treatment plant was one of a few worldwide to use an innovative heating and cooling system. It was only months away from being self-sustaining energy-wise and regularly produced large amounts of agriculturally beneficial "biosolids." (32) It was expected in 2014 that the within a few years the plant would save $250,000 in annual energy expenses. (33)

Constructed on the same site as the previous plant, the Center was a $65 million project, the largest capital investment in the history of the city. The facility in 2013 daily processed about 10 million gallons of wastewater from 23,000 customers and deposited cleaned liquid into the MISSISSIPPI RIVER. (34)

Solid wastes were processed through anerobic digestion rather than incineration. This produced methane and bio-solids. While initially more expensive, anerobic digestion had the lowest annual operation and maintenance costs. Ultraviolet light rather than harmful chemicals was used to sterilize the water. The light did not kill bacteria, but made it unable to reproduce. Instead of using groundwater for heating and cooling, the clean effluent was used within the facility. (35) Sludge removed in the secondary treatment process are de-watered using rotary drum thickeners, then blended with sludge removed in the primary treatment process. The blended sludge was then treated by anaerobic digestion. The digested sludge was thickened using dry solids centrifuges, then transported to a holding facility, from where it was applied to crop land as a soil amendment. (36) The project was funded by the Iowa Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loan program. Sanitary sewer fees were used to repay the loan.

In 2015 the City of Dubuque purchased Twin Ridge Water, a company that supplied water and sewer to the Twin Ridge subdivision in Key West. City leaders had budgeted $600,000 to purchase the Twin Ridge water system, but nothing had been budgeted to purchase the subdivision's sewer system. The purchase of Twin Ridge Water necessitated an $810,000 capital outlay to upgrade a sewer lift station and install a sanitary sewer pump station along Lake Eleanor Road. (37) To pay for the purchase of the system, city staff recommended delaying four sanitary sewer projects until the following fiscal year. These included a new outfall of the city's wastewater treatment plant, upgrading portions of a sanitary sewer interceptor along the south fork of CATFISH CREEK, annexing sewer along U. S. 20 and installing sanitary sewer to serve an estimated dozen houses along Laurel Street. (38)

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Source:

1. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, July 16, 1875, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18750716&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

2. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, December 12, 1876, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18761212&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

3. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, August 3, 1877, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18770804&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

4. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, August 9, 1877, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18770809&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

5. "The History of a Spoon," Dubuque Herald, December 6, 1879, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18791206&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

6. "The Drainage System," Dubuque Herald, September 22, 1878, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18780922&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

7. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, September 22, 1878, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18780922&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

8. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, August 4, 1880, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18800804&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

9. Fyten, David and Knee, Bill. "Dubuque is Forerunner on Sewage Treatment on Upper Mississippi River," Telegraph Herald, Nov. 15, 1974, p. 1. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=EQdRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=G78MAAAAIBAJ&pg=6845,4066080&dq=sewer+system+dubuque&hl=en

10. "New Sewer Plan for West Dubuque," Telegraph Herald, Nov. 20, 1914, p. 5. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_Q9eAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5F8NAAAAIBAJ&pg=5953,4552442&dq=sewer+system+dubuque&hl=en

11. "Ten City Streets Paved During the Year," Telegraph Herald and Times Journal, Jan. 1, 1931, p. 9. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XdFFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cr0MAAAAIBAJ&pg=4129,3856014&dq=sewer+system+dubuque&hl=en

12. "Dubuque Proves Health City in Which to Live," Telegraph Herald, Apr. 30, 1931, p. 10. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Xb5FAAAAIBAJ&sjid=h70MAAAAIBAJ&pg=2426,4330301&dq=sewer+system+dubuque&hl=en

13. Fyten

14. Ibid.

15. Ibid.

16. Ibid.

17. Ibid.

18. Ibid.

19. Ibid.

20. Ibid.

21. Ibid.

22. Fyten, David. "Asbury-Dubuque Sewer Pact Signed---Finally," Telegraph Herald, July 25, 1973, p. 13. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NgpRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=McMMAAAAIBAJ&pg=7191,3788174&dq=sewer+system+dubuque&hl=en

23. Fyten, David and Knee, Bill

24. Ibid.

25. Eller, Donnelle. "Dubuque to Scope Illegal Hookups," Telegraph Herald, Apr. 19, 1994, p. 3. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JV9FAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AbwMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5470,4031423&dq=sewer+system+dubuque&hl=en

26. Eller, Donnelle. "Dubuque to Inspect Sewer Links," Telegraph Herald, Jan. 29, 1995, p. 3A. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fXJjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gHkNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5619,5144069&dq=sewer+system+dubuque&hl=en

27. Gallo, Matthew. "Waste Treatment Revamped," Telegraph Herald, September 4, 1991, p. 4A

28. Reber, Craig. "Full 'Stream' Ahead," Telegraph Herald, December 17, 1997, p. 1. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=aEyKTaVlRPYC&dat=19971217&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

29. "Dubuque Will Connect 70 Homes to Sewer Mains," Telegraph Herald, Dec. 21, 2001, p. 3. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sY9dAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kFwNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1441,3096387&dq=sewer+system+dubuque&hl=en

30. "More Smoke Testing for Dubuque's Sanitary Sewer System," Oct. 24, 2011. Online: http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/More-Smoke-Testing-For-Dubuques-Sanitary-Sewer-System--132492018.html

31. Dubuque, Iowa, to Pay $205,000 Penalty, Spend $3 Million on Sewer Improvements to Settle Violations of Clean Water Act," Environmental Protection Agency, 4/25/2011. Online: epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/4721a64f47459ce28525787d0068ea2a?OpenDocument

32. Jacobson, Ben. "Royal Flushes? City Will Put Dubuquers' Waste to Good Use," Telegraph Herald Oct. 4, 2013

33. "Wastewater Treatment." City Focus. City of Dubuque publication. Fall 2014, p. 5

34. Ibid.

35. Ibid.

36. City of Dubuque website

37. Barton, Thomas J. "Dubuque Considers $1.3 Million Utility Buy," Telegraph Herald, November 1, 2015, p. 2A

38. Ibid.