> - - - -
>
> IOWA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
>
> August 24, 2007
> For immediate release
>
> NOTE TO EDITORS: A power outage at the Wallace Building all day
> Thursday prevented EcoNewsWire from being distributed on its normal day
> and time.
>
>
> 1. DNR issues boil order for Ottumwa
> 2. DNR issues boil order for Bacon Addition in Jones County
> 3. Drinking water warning issued to Timber Ridge Mobile Home Park
> south of Shellsburg
> 4. DNR lifts boil order for Poweshiek Rural Water customers in
> Benton County
> 5. Livestock producers - stop manure runoff from reaching water
> near you
> 6. DNR revokes Armstrong water operator’s certification
> 7. Additional rainfall leads to more wastewater bypasses
>
> DNR ISSUES BOIL ORDER FOR OTTUMWA
>
> MEDIA CONTACT: Kevin Baskins at (515) 281-8395
>
> OTTUMWA - A boil order has been issued for the city of Ottumwa after
> torrential rains Thursday evening and early Friday morning caused
> flooding at the water treatment plant.
>
> The heavy precipitation caused a combination of flood water and backed
> up sewage water to flood into the basement of the facility ruining
> pumps. Motors on the pumps were undergoing emergency repairs Friday.
>
> “Right now, the key issue is maintaining water pressure through the
> distribution system,” said Paul Brandt of the DNR’s field office in
> Washington.
>
> It was estimated Friday morning that Ottumwa’s water supply could be
> down 24 to 36 hours. The city of Ottumwa has approximately 25,000
> residents.
>
> If the water pressure falls too low before the pumps can go back
> online, the entire system will have to be flushed and sanitized prior to
> the boil order being lifted. As of Friday morning, the city had a supply
> of 500,000 gallons of treated water in storage that could be used to try
> and maintain pressure in the system.
>
> By Friday morning, fresh water was being hauled to the hospital and
> care facilities and the Red Cross was on the scene to provide bottled
> water. Portable toilets were also being placed at various locations
> throughout the city.
>
> # # #
>
> DNR ISSUES BOIL ORDER FOR BACON ADDITION IN JONES COUNTY
>
> MEDIA CONTACT: Mike Wade at (563) 927-2640.
>
> MONTICELLO - The DNR has issued a boil order for Bacon Addition, a
> subdivision west of Monticello in Jones County.
>
> The order was issued Friday morning after routine water testing showed
> bacteria levels above the maximum contaminant level in August. Testing
> in July showed somewhat elevated bacteria levels.
>
> Boiling destroys bacteria present in the water. Water should be brought
> to a boil, boiled one minute and then allowed to cool before using. More
> information on disinfecting water is available on the EPA Safe Drinking
> Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791.
>
> All residents are being notified by phone or by hand delivery. They
> will also be notified when test results show that the water is safe to
> drink and no longer has to be boiled.
>
> The City of Monticello will shock chlorinate the distribution system
> Friday night and install a disinfection system this weekend.
>
> Writer: Karen Grimes
>
> # # #
>
> DRINKING WATER WARNING ISSUED TO TIMBER RIDGE MOBILE HOME PARK SOUTH OF
> SHELLSBURG
>
> MEDIA CONTACT: Mike Wade at (563) 927-2640.
>
> SHELLSBURG - The DNR told residents of the Timber Ridge Mobile Home
> Park in Benton County that infants under six months old should not be
> drinking the water and it should not be used to prepare infant formula
> or juices.
>
> The water should not be boiled, since boiling leaves nitrite behind as
> the water evaporates.
>
> The DNR issued the warning after test results received Aug. 24 showed
> elevated nitrite levels in the drinking water supply, almost double the
> maximum contaminant level of 1.0 mg./L. Nitrite in drinking water is a
> serious health concern for infants, but children older than six months
> and adults can drink the tap water, because they process the nitrite
> differently.
>
> Pregnant women and people with health problems may want to contact
> their doctors.
>
> The mobile home park has notified residents and is flushing the water
> lines and adding chlorine. Residents will also be notified when the
> warning has been lifted.
>
> The nitrite is formed when bacteria in the water distribution system
> convert ammonia in the water supply to nitrite. It is more likely to
> occur during hot weather.
>
> The nitrite is not related to recent rains or to agricultural
> activities.
>
> Writer: Karen Grimes
>
> # # #
>
> DNR LIFTS BOIL ORDER FOR POWESHIEK RURAL WATER CUSTOMERS IN BENTON
> COUNTY
>
> MEDIA CONTACTS: Mike Wade at DNR at (563) 927-2640
>
> BENTON COUNTY - The DNR has lifted a boil order for all Benton County
> customers of the Poweshiek Rural Water Supply.
>
> Laboratory test results came back clean for bacteria, allowing the DNR
> to lift the boil order that had been in effect since Tuesday. Water
> pressure has also been restored.
>
> The order affected the cities of Van Horne and Norway, along with rural
> customers.
>
> Writer: Jessie Brown
> # # #
>
> LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS - STOP MANURE RUNOFF FROM REACHING WATER NEAR YOU
>
> MEDIA CONTACT: Eric Wiklund at (641) 424-4073 for confinements; Tom
> McCarthy at (563) 927-2640 for open feedlots.
>
> DES MOINES - Livestock producers can prevent or reduce damage from
> manure discharges despite heavy rainfalls that may have stressed manure
> storage facilities.
>
> Unlike municipalities that take in lots of rainfall and discharge very
> dilute wastewater, livestock facilities have a concentrated manure
> product that may result in fish kills or stress to aquatic organisms.
>
> Although their approach may differ, both open feedlot and confinement
> producers can prevent water quality problems by stopping manure runoff
> from entering Iowa streams.
>
> Confinement producers should call their local DNR field office for
> assistance and options if their manure storage structure is nearly full.
>
>
> “When saturated soils and heavy rainfall prevent producers from land
> applying manure, DNR staff can provide options and OK alternative
> application,” said Eric Wiklund, an environmental specialist in Mason
> City. “Often that involves transferring the manure to another nearby
> storage facility or land applying at agronomic rates that will not cause
> the manure to infiltrate,” he said.
>
> Producers should not pump the manure to the ground or a nearby field,
> he said. And, they should not let the structure overflow. Producers
> should call the DNR field office if manure levels are approaching one
> foot below the top of a concrete or steel structure, or within two feet
> of the top of an earthen berm.
>
> Wiklund said that several confinement producers have caused large fish
> kills or pollution events in the past by pumping manure to a field. The
> manure discharged directly to a stream or infiltrated a tile line that
> discharged to a stream, resulting in water quality violations and
> penalties for the producer.
>
> Open feedlots are the single largest source of fish kills in Iowa,
> causing 22 percent of human-caused fish kills from 1995 to 2006. Manure
> runoff is more likely with open feedlots than confinements, because
> confinement operations are not allowed to discharge or stockpile manure.
> Even small lots with fewer than 100 animals can cause a problem if not
> managed carefully, said Tom McCarthy, a DNR environmental specialist in
> Manchester.
>
> He recommends feedlot owners walk below their feedlot after every
> rainfall or freeze-thaw cycle to ensure runoff is not entering Iowa
> streams, rivers or lakes.
>
> “Open feedlot owners with runoff control structures should check
> those basins frequently while it’s raining,” said Ken Hessenius,
> supervisor of the Spencer DNR field office. “Those basins can fill up
> fast and can be breached if they overflow.”
>
> Producers should call a field office if it looks like the basin will
> overflow.
>
> McCarthy also encourages open feedlot producers to check the locations
> of their stockpiles. They should make sure that solids are kept off of
> steep slopes (more than three percent slope), out of grassed waterways
> or where water pools. Open feedlot stockpiles should also be kept at
> least 800 feet away from a high quality water resource; 400 feet away
> from other environmentally sensitive areas; and 200 feet away from a
> terrace tile inlet or surface tile inlet.
>
> Field offices are listed on the DNR Web site at
> www.iowadnr.gov/fo/index.html. Or, call one of the offices listed
> below:
> * Northeast Iowa, Manchester, (563) 927-2640.
> * North Central Iowa, Mason City, (641) 424-4073.
> * Northwest Iowa, Spencer, (712) 262-4177.
> * Southwest Iowa, Atlantic, (712) 243-1934.
> * South Central Iowa, Des Moines, (515) 725-0268.
> * Southeast Iowa, Washington, (319) 653-2135.
>
> Producers often ask about the effects of municipal bypasses, but DNR
> fish kill records indicate that less than three percent of fish kills
> can be traced to wastewater bypasses. Untreated wastewater from
> municipalities is fairly dilute. Most municipal bypasses occur when
> rainfall is heavy and stream flows are high, keeping recreational users
> out of the stream and further diluting the wastewater.
>
> Writer: Karen Grimes
>
> # # #
>
> DNR REVOKES ARMSTRONG WATER OPERATOR’S CERTIFICATION
>
> MEDIA CONTACT: Julie Sievers at (712) 260-0625.
>
> ARMSTRONG - The DNR has revoked the certification of the person
> formerly responsible for the drinking water and wastewater treatment
> systems in Armstrong.
>
> In a legal consent order with the DNR, operator Adam Anderson admitted
> to falsifying data. He agreed to surrender his certification for water
> treatment and distribution, and to not reapply for water or wastewater
> certification in Iowa. He was not certified for wastewater.
>
> The revocation comes after a citizen reported to the DNR that the city
> was not using chlorine to disinfect its drinking water system. A DNR
> investigation verified the claim and found that Anderson had falsely
> reported to the DNR that he was chlorinating the system and doing other
> required testing. Anderson is no longer employed by the City of
> Armstrong, which is located in Emmet County.
>
> “We revoked the operator’s certification because he was putting the
> drinking water and people of Armstrong at an extreme risk,” said Julie
> Sievers, a DNR environmental specialist based out of Storm Lake.
> “Operators around the state need to know that we take these types
> of events very seriously, and we do investigate water systems. The City
> of Armstrong has hired a certified operator and the city’s water is
> safe to drink.”
>
> The DNR requires water supplies and wastewater treatment facilities to
> submit a monthly operating report, detailing how they have met or failed
> to meet treatment requirements.
>
> “If you notice something has changed in your drinking water, call
> your city officials. If you don’t get a satisfactory answer from the
> city, we encourage Iowans to call their local DNR field office,”
> Sievers said.
>
> The DNR has the ability to suspend and revoke certificates for water
> supply and wastewater operators.
>
> Writer: Jessie Brown
>
> # # #
>
> ADDITIONAL RAINFALL LEADS TO MORE WASTEWATER BYPASSES
>
> NOTE TO EDITORS: This is an update to the bypass news releases that
> were issued August 20, 21 and 22.
>
> MEDIA CONTACT: Kevin Baskins at (515) 281-8395.
>
> DES MOINES - With heavy rain continuing to fall across the state, the
> following cities have reported wastewater bypasses:
>
> Black Hawk County
> Cedar Falls: The City of Cedar Falls is bypassing from its wastewater
> treatment plant and its Park Drive lift station. A detention pond at the
> plant has filled due to heavy rain, and the city is bypassing from the
> pond into a wooded area at a rate of 100 gallons per minute. The city is
> bypassing to another wooded area from the lift station at a rate of
> 1,000 gallons per hour. The basin bypass began Thursday at 11:45, while
> the lift station bypass began at 4:30 a.m. Friday. The city is cleaning
> up solids around the lift station.
>
> Cedar Falls is also bypassing untreated wastewater from a manhole in
> the 1200 block of Lilac Street. The city is pumping the wastewater
> directly into the storm sewer, which flows into the Cedar River. This
> bypass began at 8:00 a.m. Friday and the city reports it will stop by
> 2:00 p.m. Friday.
>
> Bremer County
> Readlyn: The City of Readlyn is bypassing from its wastewater treatment
> plant to a road ditch along 240th Street and from a lift station at the
> intersection of County Road V49 and First Street. The bypasses are
> reaching the Wapsipinicon River after flowing through a few miles of the
> ditch. This is in addition to bypasses reported earlier in the week.
>
> Cherokee County
> Cherokee: The City of Cherokee bypassed 54,000 gallons of untreated
> wastewater from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Wednesday from a manhole at the
> intersection of Euclid and Willow. The bypass reached the Little Sioux
> River. The city bypassed an additional 63,000 gallons from the same
> location from 8:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Thursday.
>
> Clarke County
> Murray: The City of Murray bypassed untreated wastewater from 9:00 p.m.
> Thursday to 5:30 a.m. Friday. Wastewater from the north lift station
> bypassed to an unnamed tributary of Squaw Creek, while a bypass from the
> south lift station reached an unnamed tributary of East Long Creek.
>
> Clinton County
> Clinton: The City of Clinton has reported a storm water permit bypass
> at its ML Kapp Generating Station. Heavy rains caused the coal pile at
> the station to wash out, covering storm sewer drains. Storm water runoff
> diverted to Mill Creek and the Mississippi River, beginning at 12:30
> p.m. Thursday.
>
> Clinton: The Equistar facility near Clinton bypassed an unknown amount
> of partially treated process water and storm water to a county road
> ditch Thursday. A lagoon at the facility holds process wastewater and
> storm water runoff from the plant site. Heavy rain caused the lagoon to
> overflow from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Process water is wastewater
> generated from manufacturing and industrial processes.
>
> Des Moines County
> Burlington: The City of Burlington bypassed 6,100 gallons of untreated
> wastewater to the Mississippi River from 8:30 to 9:45 Wednesday evening.
> The city bypassed from its Brooks Street Flow Regulating Chamber to the
> Mississippi River and has notified downstream water users of the bypass.
> The city began bypassing partially treated wastewater at 3:00 a.m.
> Friday from its 14th Street lift station. That bypass is ongoing.
>
> Middletown: The Iowa Army Ammunition Plant began bypassing partially
> treated wastewater to Brush Creek beginning at 7 a.m. Friday. The plant
> is discharging at a rate of 35 to 50 gallons per minute. The bypass is
> ongoing.
>
> Dubuque County
> Dubuque: The City of Dubuque bypassed 4,000 gallons of untreated
> wastewater from Key Way Dr. to Catfish Creek from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00
> p.m. Wednesday.
>
> Grundy County
> Wellsburg: The City of Wellsburg stopped bypassing at 7 p.m. Thursday.
> This is an update to a previously reported bypass.
>
> Hardin County
> Ackley: The City of Ackley is discharging partially treated wastewater
> to South Beaver Creek from a lagoon.
>
> Iowa Falls: The City of Iowa Falls has been bypassing to the Iowa River
> since Aug. 18. The amount bypassed is still unknown.
>
> Marion County
> Knoxville: The City of Knoxville bypassed one million gallons of
> wastewater from a basin at its treatment plant and another 350,000
> gallons from three points in its sewage collection system. The bypass to
> Competine Creek began Thursday and ended Friday.
>
> Montgomery County
> Stanton: The City of Stanton began bypassing untreated wastewater from
> its main lift station to the Tarkio River at 9 p.m. Thursday. The bypass
> is ongoing.
>
> Muscatine County
> West Liberty: The City of West Liberty began bypassing untreated
> wastewater from its treatment plant wet well to Wapsinonoc Creek at 1
> p.m. Thursday.
>
> Scott County
> Eldridge: The City of Eldridge bypassed 2,000 gallons of wastewater
> from its Price Street Lift Station to a field from 3:30 a.m. to 4:00
> a.m. Thursday.
>
> Wapello County
> Eddyville: Chamness Technology will pump partially treated wastewater
> from a lagoon at its Eddyville compost facility Friday. Following heavy
> rains, the lagoon is about to overflow. Lowering the level of the lagoon
> will prevent damage to the structure. Chamness Technology plans to
> bypass until rain stops in the area. The bypass to farm fields is
> expected to eventually reach Palestine Creek and the Des Moines River.
>
> Ottumwa: The City of Ottumwa began bypassing untreated wastewater from
> various sewers to the Des Moines River Thursday night. The city is
> pumping from these sewers to prevent river water from backing up into
> its sewer system, which has combined storm and sanitary sewers, and into
> basements.
>
> Washington County
> Riverside: The City of Riverside bypassed 15,000 gallons of untreated
> wastewater for five minutes Friday morning. Staff at the city’s
> wastewater treatment plant was performing maintenance when problems led
> to an accidental bypass to a drainage ditch at 5:15 a.m. The ditch
> eventually discharges to the English River.
>
> -30-
>