Sioux City Penalized For 'Improperly Treated Sewage' And Cover-Up
By Peak Johnson
Sioux City, IA, has encountered environmental penalties for getting rid of “improperly treated sewage” containing very high levels of E. coli bacteria into the Missouri River.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) would like the Attorney General to take civil action against the city for the illegal discharges over an 803-day period between March 2012 and June of last year, according to the Sioux City Journal.
"Because the city did not properly disinfect its wastewater, the city was discharging wastewater high in bacteria," the DNR said. "Bacteria have known harmful effects on human health."
The state agency noted the Missouri is a recreational river where swimmers, boaters, canoeists, and water skiers may come into "prolonged and direct contact with the water."
According to the DNR, the city violated one Iowa code provision, seven Iowa administrative codes, and 12 federal permit conditions. The state attorney general can seek higher civil penalties than the DNR, whose penalties are “capped at $10,000.”
In interviews with investigators from last June, two plant supervisors, Jay Niday and Pat Schwarte, admitted to raising chlorine doses on days that E. coli samples were taken and then turning the levels back down, the Sioux City Journal reported.
The DNR found "overwhelming evidence" that at least four other city employees also engaged in manipulation of the test results.
Two downstream cities that draw some of their water from the Missouri River say that they are not worried about reports that Sioux City discharged improperly treated wastewater into the river.
In Council Bluffs, IA, which is about 90 miles downstream, officials said they are confident the improperly treated discharges did not harm the quality of the city's water, a portion of which comes from the river, according to the Sioux City Journal.
"The Council Bluffs plant is designed to purify the river water into drinking water regardless of what's in it," Drummey said. "We're always treating the water to a level that will make it safe for human consumption."
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