Designated one of the “50 Most Beautiful Small Towns in America” by Good Housekeeping Magazine, the City of Dyersville, Iowa, offers picturesque views and charm. It’s a growing community with new residential development and a strong tourist trade.
Even before Origin Design (Formerly IIW, P.C.) was founded in 1982, our employees were serving as the City’s primary engineer. Our latest project is scheduled for completion by July of 2017 and promises to serve the City’s more than 4,100 residents for several decades to come.
The City of Dyersville’s original mechanical wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) was built in 2001. The upgraded plant will nearly double its treatment capacity and help to offset wastewater discharges to the North Fork Maquoketa River during flood events. These improvements will well-exceed the Iowa Department of Natural Resources requirements for the strength of wastewater entering the plant. The City was also able to leverage a $1 million U.S. Economic Development Administration grant for the project, offsetting the costs to its residents.
Located just southwest of the intersection of U.S. Highway 20 and Iowa Highway 136, passersby will soon see a new, white, locally sold ClearSpan building. The 300 by 65-foot fabric building will house clarifiers and a new ultraviolet (UV) light disinfection system, and will protect the equipment by preventing the formation of ice in the winter months.
The upgraded WWTF features a UV disinfection system that breaks the DNA chains in the bacteria, rendering them unable to reproduce. New regulations require disinfection of any remaining pathogenic microorganisms before discharge to the North Fork of the Maquoketa River. Treatment produces bacteria that eats pollutants. These are removed with nutrients and digested. The dewatered solids are able to be reused in agriculture due to their fertilizer value.
The City of Dyersville is a “beautiful small town in America” that is sustainably growing and prospering. This upgrade makes the plant more environmentally friendly, while also increasing the treatment capacity in the process – all of which are many important selling points to potential developers, businesses, and future residents as the City of Dyersville continues to foster sustainable economic growth well into the future.
