Eldridge Wastewater Treatment Facilities

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With the rapid growth of the community and tighter regulations, Eldridge’s wastewater system has needed to expand several times during the past 40 years that Shive-Hattery has been city engineer. The latest improvements are being driven by several factors:

• New permit with lower ammonia limits and disinfection requirements at the Buttermilk Lagoon.
• New permit with nutrient removal and disinfection requirements at the South Slope wastewater treatment plant.
• Continued population growth.
• Expansion of the Davenport Airport.
• Planned industrial park, rail spur, and road extensions.

Over the years, Shive-Hattery has assisted Eldridge with nearly every aspect of capital improvements from implementation plans and funding options to governmental permitting, design, construction services and startup support. Wastewater projects have included:

• Converting Buttermilk Lagoon to an aerated lagoon in the 1980’s as well as follow-on upgrades to the lift station and standby power in the 1990’s.
• Converting the South Slope WWTP to a sequencing batch reactor plant in the early 1990’s, followed by a plant expansions in 2006 as well as other upgrade projects.
• Collection system improvements including 16,000 linear feet of gravity sanitary sewer, 56 sanitary manholes, and assisting with a multi-year sewer rehabilitation program.
• Lift Station improvements, including four lift stations, reconditioning of two existing lift stations and the demolition of three lift stations as well as 1,500 linear feet of forcemain, Stormwater improvements including 4,000 linear feet of storm sewer and the reconstruction of 6,000 linear feet of residential streets.

In anticipation of the new permits for Buttermilk and South Slope, Shive-Hattery along with the City evaluated several treatment alternatives for the lagoon as well as capacity and nutrient removal optimization at South Slope. New permits for both facilities were received at essentially the same time. This combined with continued growth and development, the City selected the alternative to convert Buttermilk Lagoon to an equalization basin, and route all flows to South Slope for treatment. In response, Shive-Hattery completed Iowa DNR permitting, including facility planning, anti-degradation analysis, waste-load allocations, and SRF loan assistance. Shive-Hattery teamed with Trotter and Associates to complete the design and construction services for current upgrades to the system. The 2018-2019 improvements in the process of being constructed include:

• Expansion of South Slope WWTP and modifications for nutrient removal and disinfection.
• Converting Buttermilk to equalization.
• New lift station, half-mile force main, and 2.5-mile gravity interceptor.

The City of Eldridge's wastewater treatment facilities have kept up with the rapidly growing needs of its community as well as the tightening of discharge limits. The latest project will continue that goal and position the City for growth and permit compliance well into the future.