Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Environmental Services Division

For Immediate Release						July 6, 2007

RAW SEWAGE DISCHARGE IN LAPORTE CITY WAS PREVENTABLE

MEDIA CONTACT: Mike Wade at (563) 927-2640

LaPORTE CITY – Residents of LaPorte City are asked to avoid surface contact 
with a road ditch by the Benton Street lift station for at least 48 hours 
after raw sewage was released there Thursday evening.

Between 5,000 and 6,000 gallons of untreated wastewater discharged from the 
lift station after a generator failed following power outages in the area. 
The plant used a pump to move the sewage to a nearby ditch. The ditch is an 
unnamed tributary that flows into the Cedar River, which runs through 
LaPorte City. The bypass occurred around 5 p.m. Thursday and lasted for an 
hour.

“If the operator would have had an emergency plan that included hauling, the 
relatively small quantity of raw waste could have been transported to the 
plant and would have prevented potential exposure to citizens and pets in 
the city,” said Mike Wade, an environmental specialist at the DNR field 
office in Manchester. The bypass wasn’t reported to DNR officials until 9:40 
Friday morning.

The treatment facility is required to collect samples of the wastewater in 
order to test for E. coli and other contaminant levels. They will also be 
required to submit a plan of action to DNR officials that will outline 
emergency plans in order to prevent future occurrences.

Facilities are required to report bypasses caused by mechanical failures to 
the DNR within 12 hours of onset or discovery. The DNR will issue a notice 
of violation to the treatment plant for failure to report in 12 hours and 
for prohibited discharge, as the quantity pumped could have been contained 
and transported. The DNR may pursue additional enforcement action for the 
violations.

Writer: Holly Williams
-30-

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