Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Environmental Services Division

For Immediate Release                                                   	    
    June 11, 2007

IOWA FALLS, FAIRFIELD, PRINCETON, CRESTON REPORT WASTEWATER BYPASSES

MEDIA CONTACT: Curt Krieger (Iowa Falls) at (641) 424-4073; Terry Jones 
(Fairfield) at (319) 653-2135; Brent Earley (Princeton) at (319) 653-2135; 
Holly Vandemark (Creston) at (712) 243-1934.

DES MOINES — The cities of Iowa Falls, Fairfield, Princeton and Creston 
reported wastewater discharges to the DNR over the weekend.

In Iowa Falls, a resident reported a wastewater flow coming from an outlet 
near Fremont Street to the city around 6 p.m. Sunday. City crews found a 
grease blockage in the sewer line and cleared it by 6:30. During that time, 
an unknown amount of untreated wastewater reached the Iowa River. The city 
plans to visit restaurants served by this sewer line Monday and explain 
proper disposal of grease.

“Because of the quick reporting from the resident, who called the city at 
the start of the flow, the city was able to remove the blockage quickly and 
minimize the impact on the Iowa River,” said Curt Krieger, an environmental 
specialist in the DNR’s Mason City field office. “It’s also a good example 
of how we all need to be aware of what happens to what we pour down our 
drains.”

The City of Fairfield reported two bypasses on Saturday following mechanical 
issues with a lift station. In the first event, wiring came loose, leading 
to a 3,000 gallon discharge between 3:45 a.m. and 4:45 a.m. A second problem 
with pump controls discharged 750 gallons of wastewater between 11:15 and 
11:45 a.m. Both discharges reached a small intermittent stream that flows 
into Crow Creek. The city plans on installing new electrical line Monday and 
has developed a contingency plan for this pump to prevent future bypasses.

In Princeton in Scott County, a plugged sewer led to a wet well overflow 
into a dry well at its pumping station. The city evacuated the pump station 
until a vacuum truck could clean the station.  Between 3:15 and 5:15 Friday 
afternoon, about 600 gallons of wastewater reached the Mississippi River.

In Creston, about 200 gallons of untreated wastewater reached Hurley Creek 
on Friday when a plugged sewer line led to a cap on a cast iron pipe 
leaking. The city discovered the bypass from the 500 block of Sycamore St. 
around 6:30 p.m. Friday and unplugged the line to end the bypass by 7 p.m.

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