Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Environmental Services Division

For Immediate Release                                                        
                  June 23, 2007

HEAVY RAIN CAUSES OVERFLOWS OF SEWAGE SYSTEMS AT FAIRFIELD AND WEST BRANCH

DES MOINES – A mixture of untreated sewage and rainwater was discharged at 
various pumping stations and manholes around the city of Fairfield following 
heavy rainfall Friday night.

Also reporting the discharge of untreated sewage was the city of West Branch 
where approximately 163,000 gallons of a sewage and rainwater overflowed 
from a pumping station during the early morning hours on Saturday. The fluid 
flowed into a nearby soybean field, but did not reach any stream. The city 
also had a discharge due to excess rain on Friday.

Approximately 89,000 gallons of the sewage/rainwater mixture in Fairfield 
reached tributaries eventually flowing to Crow Creek and Cedar Creek. The 
discharge occurred because the city’s system becomes overloaded even during 
moderate rainfalls. The DNR is currently working with the city of Fairfield 
to have the system upgraded.

Bypasses can occur when heavy rain overloads wastewater collection systems, 
which are the underground pipes that carry sewage to a treatment plant. When 
sewer pipes are overwhelmed, the excess rainwater and sewage have nowhere to 
go. Cities bypass to lower the wastewater level in the collection system and 
prevent backups into basements through floor drains. Although discharging 
wastewater to a stream is not desirable, it does prevent a greater and more 
immediate health risk in people’s homes.

The DNR is currently working with a number of wastewater facilities across 
the state to upgrade systems and reduce the number of untreated sewage 
discharges into surface water.

For more information, contact Kevin Baskins at 515-249-2814.

-30-

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]

Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information:
http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp

Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship
e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's
latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent
editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/