Origin Design partnered with the Eastern Iowa Regional Utility Service System (EIRUSS) to bring a long-term solution to the community of Petersburg, Iowa.
The community did not have a central sewer treatment system, and only 16 of the 86 properties had permitted septic tank and disposal systems. Most of the non-permitted systems discharge septic tank effluent into one of three collector pipes which discharge partially treated and untreated waste into drainage ways located north, south, and southeast of the community.
Origin Design completed a study and subsequent design of a publicly-owned treatment works to serve the residents of the community. The goal was to ensure the solution met the communities needs to prevent partially treated wastewater from leaving the community.









Origin researched several alternatives to address the long-term sanitary treatment goals, including private, individual, and clustered systems, public lagoon and septic tanks to recirculating media filter treatment systems, and collection systems alternatives to give the community a broad look at the feasible ways to solve this problem. The community voted on the implemented solution which was a controlled discharge lagoon with a collection system comprised of grinder pump stations to a low-pressure sewer.

In this effort, Delaware County and EIRUSS were able to collaborate and utilize multiple funding sources for the project, including USDA-RD Water & Waste Disposal Loan and Grant; Delaware County Covid Relief Funds; and Iowa Finance Authority Water Infrastructure Fund.