The City of Indianola Water Resource Recovery Facility has received the grand prize in the Water/Wastewater category for the 2024 Engineering Excellence Awards Competition. Department staff, project contractors with HR Green, City leadership and elected officials will be presented with an award celebrating the accomplishment on Wednesday, May 22, at the American Council of Engineering Companies of Iowa Awards Banquet in West Des Moines.
“This state-of-the-art facility is not only a model of environmental stewardship, it represents a foundational investment into the City of Indianola’s long-term infrastructure, which will invite new business and capital investment into our community in both an environmentally sustainable and financially sound manner,” said City Manager Benjamin Reeves.
Nestled in northwest Indianola outside of city limits, the City’s new $45.6 million facility is one of the first wastewater treatment plants in the state to implement the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy — a science and technology-based approach to assess and reduce nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus delivered to Iowa waterways and the Gulf of Mexico. It outlines voluntary efforts to reduce nutrients in surface water from both point sources, such as wastewater treatment plants and industrial facilities, and nonpoint sources, including farm fields and urban areas, in a scientific, reasonable and cost-effective manner.
Planning and development of the revamped site and operation began in March 2016, with construction breaking ground in April 2020. The previous wastewater treatment plant, built in 1978 and designed for a population of 11,600 residents, was well beyond its useful life of 30 years, aging infrastructure and stricter regulations where the community’s investment for a new plant was essential.
Following its completion in October 2022, and with an estimated growing population of more than 16,000 residents, Indianola’s Water Resource Recovery Facility today meets all of the state regulations established by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency federal requirements. It incorporates an innovative design that allows it to function in a cost-effective manner on a regular basis because of a built-in secondary peak flow treatment that activates only in extreme, as-needed circumstances.
“We’re investing in our environmental future. The better we are at treating the wastewater as a point source, the better the waterways of our state will be,” said Water Resource Recovery Department Superintendent Jared Keenan. “As the economic development continues for the city, we’ll be able to take on more homes and industry, and we can build our community far greater than our old facility could ever handle. We have the space to grow even beyond what we’re designed as right now.”
The Water Resource Recovery Department tirelessly oversees seven lift stations, 50-plus pumps, a vast network of sewer mains covering 93 miles throughout Indianola and 2,100 manholes. Department staff also perform routine Jet/Vac truck maintenance, sewer camera inspections and lab testing of the wastewater before and after treatment to ensure compliance throughout all facets of the operation is met.
Plans for an official open house, where community members can tour the facility and interact with department staff, will be announced in the coming months.
To learn more about the Water Resource Recovery Facility and the Water Resource Recovery Department, please visit www.indianolaiowa.gov/163/Water-Resource-Recovery-Department.