Muddy Creek is getting better all the time thanks to Wastewater Plant improvements

June 10, 2011 — The North Liberty City Council approved an $8.4 million Water Pollution Control Facility expansion in April 2007. The new facility, a Membrane Bio-Reactor plant, produces a super-clean outflow that normal wastewater treatment facilities cannot match.
After years of assessments, recent data collected by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources indicates that the quality of North Liberty’s Muddy Creek continues to improve, and that the outflow from the treatment plant is benefiting the creek. Todd Hubbard, a Limnologist at the University of Iowa State Hygienic Lab says, “As someone who has been involved in all the assessments that have been done on Muddy Creek, over the years, I have seen a marked improvement in the in stream habitat quality and overall water quality.”
Prior to North Liberty’s new wastewater plant, in stream conditions weren’t ideal for the fish community or the creek. The MBR treatment process is the most advanced wastewater treatment process in the world, and North Liberty’s facility is the first MBR treatment plant in Iowa. Since the plant went online in 2008, it has produced 99.9% removal of all pollutants listed on the treatment plant’s IDNR permit. David Ramsey, Plant Superintendent, says, “The [outflow] from the plant also contains dissolved oxygen which is great for the creek.” Ramsey also notes that a recent IDNR inspection report stated, “We checked the plant outfall to Muddy Creek. The plant effluent was clear, while the creek itself was muddy and turbid.”
For information contact City Hall at (319) 626-5700.