Mission Statement
To collect and treat wastewater in a safe, reliable, cost effective, and customer-friendly manner in accordance with all state and federal regulations.
Division Summary
Sewer Collection Section
The Sanitary Sewer Collection unit is responsible for the operation, maintenance, and inspection of approximately 577 miles of sanitary sewer and 23 lift stations. The unit is also responsible for approximately 35 miles of sewer and seven lift stations for two sanitary sewer districts.
Sanitary sewer maintenance and inspection includes sewer cleaning, root cutting, and chemical treatment of lines, inspections of manholes, televising of lines, smoke and dye testing, flow monitoring, grouting and sealing of pipe joints, and operation and maintenance of the lift stations.
In 2003, 1,626,678 feet of sanitary sewer lines were cleaned for the preventive maintenance program. An additional 493,332 feet of sanitary sewer was either chemically or mechanically treated for roots and grease. Another 92,694 feet of lines were cleaned for service calls. TV and manhole inspections provide a means of identifying sewer defects and determine the sewer needs in street project areas. Crews televised 359,125 feet of sanitary sewer and inspected 784 manholes in 2003.
To reduce infiltration of groundwater into the sanitary sewer system, crews grouted and sealed defective pipe joints. Flow monitoring was continued in Basin 7 to monitor the results of the joint sealing program. Dry and wet weather flows were also monitored throughout the city. Flow monitoring continued to be conducted in conjunction with the Pretreatment Program. There are ten different sites that are monitored four times a year.
A Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system monitors and controls the operation of 22 remote stations in the city from the Water Reclamation Facility. Over 89,309 feet or 16.9 miles of sewer were added to the system at a cost of $2,447,135.
The Storm Sewer Collection unit is responsible for the cleaning and inspection of the storm sewer lines, junction boxes, and inlets. The crews inspected and cleaned 2,390 inlets. 6,615 feet of inlet leads were cleaned in conjunction with the inlet cleaning. There were also 165,015 feet of storm sewer lines cleaned.
Over 56,178 feet or 10.64 miles of storm sewer was added to the system through City projects at a cost of $3,943,521.
Wastewater Treatment Section
The Wastewater Treatment unit operates and maintains the City's wastewater treatment facility. The wastewater treatment facility has an average design capacity of 19.7 million gallons per day and provides primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment of wastewater.
Effluent standards for the treatment facility are specified in the City's NPDES permit. Monthly reports on effluent quality are filed with the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources to ensure compliance with the standards.
The Wastewater Treatment unit regulates and monitors all industrial discharges in Sioux Falls under the authority of the Federal Industrial Pretreatment Program. Annual reports on the status and activities of the program are submitted to the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The wastewater treatment facility has an electrical cogeneration facility on site that uses methane gas produced from the sludge digestion system. The electricity produced is used in the plant, as is the waste heat from the generation facility. In 2003, 3,246,200 kilowatt hours of electricity were produced which represented 22.5 percent of the total electrical power used at the wastewater treatment facility.
The Siouxpergrow Biosolids application program continued in 2003. Over 2,600 dry tons or 12.1 million gallons of biosolids were applied to 1,009 acres of agricultural land. The program recycled 100 percent of the biosolids produced at the wastewater treatment facility. Biosolids are stored in two facultative basins during the winter season and land applied during the fall of the year.
