http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070821/NEWS/708210408/-1/ENT06

 

Heavy rains overload sewage plants

Pollution: To prevent backups, waste is sent to rivers, streams

Precipitation: In some places, 10 inches falls; the forecast is wet

		Sewage bypasses across state
		Heavy rain in recent days has led several Iowa cities to bypass their sewage treatment plants, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources said. These communities had taken the action as of 2 p.m. Monday: ALLAMAKEE COUNTY - Postville BLACK HAWK COUNTY - Cedar Falls - Dunkerton BOONE COUNTY - Boone BREMER COUNTY - Denver - Readlyn CALHOUN COUNTY - North Twin Lake CERRO GORDO COUNTY - Clear Lake - Mason City CLAYTON COUNTY - Garnavillo FLOYD COUNTY - Charles City FRANKLIN COUNTY - Hampton - Latimer GRUNDY COUNTY - Dike - Grundy Center HAMILTON COUNTY - Blairsburg - Wellsburg - Williams HOWARD COUNTY - Elma HUMBOLDT COUNTY - Humboldt KOSSUTH COUNTY - Algona PALO ALTO COUNTY - Emmetsburg POCAHONTAS COUNTY - Rolfe WEBSTER COUNTY - Fort Dodge - Also, storm water retention ponds at Koch Nitrogen overflowed into a ditch that flows into Brushy Creek. WORTH COUNTY - Kensett WRIGHT COUNTY - Eagle Grove Health warning TESTING: The Iowa Department of Public Health warned Iowans whose wells were flooded to get their water tested. Often, the wells have to be drained and chlorinated before the water is fit to drink again, officials said. BACTERIA: The department also urged Iowans to stay out of flooded areas that may have high levels of bacteria and to avoid manholes that are overflowing and the areas around sewage pumping stations that could be overloaded. Runoff can carry bacteria and other potential contaminants, the health department said. HELP: Officials said people concerned about wells can contact their county public health department to get information about testing. Closed to traffic The Iowa Department of Transportation has closed Iowa Highway 7 just west of Alta in Buena Vista County because of damage caused by heavy rain. Traffic is being detoured onto Buena Vista County roads M31, C49 and M27. The highway will remain closed until repairs can be made.

 

 

By PERRY BEEMAN, TOM BARTON and NIGEL DUARA
REGISTER STAFF WRITERS

August 21, 2007

Storms that dumped 5 inches or more of rain throughout northwest and north-central Iowa have overloaded municipal sewage systems, forcing officials to divert untreated wastes into nearby streams and rivers.

Those headaches, which also include flooded basements and blocked roads, may not be over.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a 40 percent chance of rain every day through Sunday for most of the state.

The weather service said "numerous rounds of thunderstorms, mainly during the overnight and early morning periods, are expected across the region this week. There is the potential for heavy rainfall with each event."

For many communities in north-central Iowa, the storms on Sunday night and Monday morning were bad enough.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said 27 sewage treatment plants, mostly municipal plants, had reported sewage bypasses because they were overwhelmed by rainwater flowing into the facilities. The plants sent untreated or partially treated sewage into streams rather than risk having sewage backing up into residents' homes, which would pose a more direct health threat.

The Iowa Department of Public Health is warning Iowans to avoid contact with water in areas that might be polluted by municipal sewage. Municipal treatment systems that reported bypasses included Mason City and Clear Lake, Fort Dodge, Cedar Falls, Boone, Charles City, Algona and Eagle Grove.

Heavy rains can cause city sewage systems to overrun because water seeps into sanitary-sewer systems through holes or because of illegal connections to the systems, said Jeff Vansteenburg of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' Mason City field office.

On Saturday, a storm that dumped about 6 inches of rain over the Iowa Great Lakes area caused sewage to overflow on the northwest side of West Okoboji Lake.

The Iowa Great Lakes Sanitary District estimated that 900 gallons of untreated waste reached the popular tourist destination near the boat ramp in an area known as Lazy Lagoon. The heavy rain caused the sewage system to overflow from a manhole at a pumping station there.

The effect on the lake is expected to be minimal because the heavy rain would dilute the waste, a DNR official said.

Roads closed, bridges watched

Numerous roads, most prominently U.S. Highway 169 south of Fort Dodge, were closed on Monday.

The National Weather Service said other roads had been closed between Dakota City and Gilmore City north of Fort Dodge. The cities of Fort Dodge, Manson and Webster City reported street flooding, closed roads and water in basements.

The Iowa Department of Transportation said Monday afternoon that it was monitoring the condition of several bridges and roads because of the recent heavy rains. The U.S. Highway 20 bridge over Cedar Creek in Calhoun County was among those that the DOT could close if waters continued to rise.

Boone County was especially hard hit. Up to 10 inches of rain fell in Boxholm, located about 25 miles south of Fort Dodge.

Pilot Mound in northern Boone County received up to 10 inches of rain; many in those two communities reported having water in their basements.

In Boone, about 3 inches of water collected in the basement of the police station when a thunderstorm hit while the station's roof was being repaired.

"Luckily, there was no damage to equipment," Police Chief William Skare said.

Boone received about 6 inches of rain.

Farther northwest, Emmet County Emergency Management Director Terry Reekers said, "The ground is totally saturated. We had gone four to six weeks without rain, and now we've gone completely in the other direction."

He said sandbags were being prepared for the town of Armstrong, where rain has overwhelmed the city's storm sewers.

"There is countywide street flooding, and some pumps have been operating 24 hours, and it's still raining," Reekers said. "We should be able to keep up as long as there's no power outage."

Livestock operations avoiding runoff

The heavy rain had a few cattle operations struggling to keep manure out of streams.

Vansteenburg of the DNR said state crews will be watching for overflowing manure storage structures at livestock farms in coming days.

Eldon McAfee, a lawyer for the Iowa Pork Producers Association and the Iowa Cattlemen's Association, said most modern hog confinements store manure in indoor pits that are not affected by heavy rain.

Cattle feedlots have runoff storage basins, but there is generally little risk of overflow because many farmers use the runoff to irrigate crops in summer, leaving plenty of storage capacity available this time of year, McAfee said.

Farmers are required to keep manure in outdoor lagoons 1 to 2 feet below the top of the lagoon walls, depending on the construction material used, to prevent overflows.

Unlike city treatment plants, hog and cattle farms are not allowed to discharge anything into streams, McAfee said.

Cindy Martens of the DNR's Spencer field office said several cattle feedlots in northwest Iowa reported that manure storage basins were close to overflowing this week. She approved the use of irrigation equipment to spray the manure on crop fields, hoping the fields would soak up part of the wastewater before it could run into streams.

A fish kill southeast of Sioux Center over the weekend most likely was caused by cattle feedlot runoff, DNR investigators said.

The state still is waiting for sample results to make a final call on the cause. More than 200 dead fish - mainly creek chubs, suckers and minnows - were found in the west branch of the Floyd River downstream from a feedlot.

Reporter Perry Beeman can be reached at (515) 284-8538 or pbeeman@dmreg.com

 

JOHN GAPS III/REGISTER PHOTOS

Tracy Wilson of Clare looks out at high water flooding the area around her house Monday. “We've got about 4 feet of water in the basement right now,” Wilson said. Clare is near Fort Dodge in northwest Webster County.

 

 

Water surrounds the home of Tracy Wilson in Clare northwest of Fort Dod ge on Monday. Much of Iowa, particularly the northwest region, was soaked by heavy rain over the weekend and into Monday. In some cities, officials decided to allow untreated waste into waterways..