Wastewater Treatment Facility Planning and Design
The City of Mayville’s wastewater treatment facility provides treatment service for residents and businesses within the City’s corporate limits, as well as the Leroy-Kekoskee Sanitary District. The facility was originally built in 1932 and has undergone several major upgrades over time, with the most recent major project completed in 1984. Most of the existing facility was constructed in 1984, with UV disinfection and chemical phosphorus removal added more recently. The design average flow of the facility is 1.12 MGD. The facility utilizes an extended aeration activated sludge process to achieve biological treatment. Generated sludge is stored on site in a holding tank before being hauled away by a licensed contractor to another facility for disposal.
Former Mayville wastewater treatment facility.
The existing treatment facility exhibited numerous deficiencies, including outdated electrical infrastructure, sanitary sewer overflow events, an inefficient aeration system, and insufficient sludge storage and handling processes. The City and MSA worked together to develop a comprehensive facilities plan, which evaluated known issues and existing buildings, utilities, and unit wastewater treatment processes. The facilities plan was used to determine a list of recommended facility upgrades that would allow the treatment facility to correct deficiencies and provide means to successfully operate the facility for at least the next 20 years.
The facilities plan was developed over an 18-month period. An initial kick-off meeting was held on site where City staff and MSA conducted a detailed walkthrough of the entire facility, assessing the condition of buildings, equipment, and other processes. The condition, capacity, and performance for all components of the existing facility was completed based on information obtained from the walk-through and other facility operational data.
Additionally, 20-year growth conditions in the service area were identified, which allowed future wastewater characteristics and effluent limits to be determined. This evaluation included correspondence with three major industrial users of the City’s collection system. Collaboration with these industries was critical to ensuring design conditions accurately considered industrial contribution to any recommended upgrades. Assessments and projections were reviewed with City staff, after which a list of prioritized facility needs was established.
Digital design tools like BIM and 3D modeling illustrate both form and function.
MSA worked with the City to prioritize facility upgrades based on needs, regulatory requirements, and cost. Alternatives were developed to determine the most cost-effective strategy to addressing critical needs. The final recommended alternatives were then selected based on input from the City’s operators and Utility Commission, cost-effectiveness, and feasibility. The MSA team utilized digital design tools such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) and 3D renderings to illustrate both functional and aesthetic use, which assisted the City in accurately envisioning the project from planning and budgeting through design, construction, operation, and maintenance. Once the recommended alternatives and scope were approved by the City’s Council, the facilities plan was finalized and submitted to the WDNR.
MSA has completed design for the treatment facility upgrades and construction began in 2025. Upgrades will include mechanical screening improvements, new influent wastewater pumping system, implementation of an A2O activated sludge process, new aeration process, new aerobic digester, new liquid sludge storage system, new administrative building with laboratory and garage, a full electrical service upgrade, and SCADA integration. The estimated total project cost for the improvements, which are expected to be completed by the end of 2027, is $29 million.
Contact Project Lead
Steven Sell, PE
Engineering Project Manager
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MoreRaymond-Elk Run Heights Wastewater Treatment Facility
The cities of Raymond and Elk Run Heights in northeastern Iowa are immediate neighbors and for years struggled to find the right solution to meet their unique wastewater treatment needs.
Former wastewater treatment system serving Raymond and Elk Run Heights.
In 1984, the communities banded together to construct a jointly owned and operated treatment facility to service both populations, yet the arrangement did not adequately resolve the requirements of each municipality. One community had excess amounts of ground water (Infiltration & Inflow) entering their system but was land-locked such that population growth was somewhat limited. The other community was small, had less I & I, but had significant growth projections for the next 20+ years.
These conflicting issues took time to resolve and were compounded by the effects of multiple flooding events in the region that further weakened the facility both mechanically and structurally. By this time, the Iowa DNR had intervened, mandating that the facility implement a compliance schedule to address recurring discharge violations pertaining to ammonia nitrogen, total nitrogen, E. coli, and dissolved oxygen.
Recognizing the need to work together to affect change, the cities of Raymond and Elk Run Heights retained MSA in 2015 to evaluate alternatives to address these issues. MSA’s approach to the project was firmly rooted in communication, concentrated around holistically understanding each party’s needs and introducing creative solutions to drive a decision for a replacement treatment facility that would satisfy the requirements of the DNR, each community’s budget, compliance needs, and long-range goals.
MSA evaluated various alternatives and utilized Building Information Modeling (BIM) to work through initial design concepts and formal design for this project. After careful consideration of alternatives and visualization of the end-product through the digital design tools, the two communities selected to move forward with the construction of a new Aero-Mod activated sludge system. The Aero-Mod system uses sophisticated clarifier technology and nutrient removal processes that employ ultraviolet (UV) light for disinfection. It also produces a sludge byproduct that, when properly treated, can be applied to local and regional farm fields as fertilizer.
Side-by-side comparison of a digital design rendering (left) utilizing BIM and the finished wastewater facility (right).
The new wastewater ‘campus’ for the communities of Raymond and Elk Run Heights is located on the property of the former facility — a low-lying parcel that required the addition of approximately 15 feet of fill spread across the entirety of the project site to boost the finished facility above the 100-year flood plain, which had been a source of damage and deterioration in the past. The new facility also includes a wastewater lagoon, UV disinfection building, laboratory, office building, and a climate-controlled garage for maintenance and storage.
MSA provided evaluation, planning and design services (civil, environmental, electrical, controls, HVAC, plumbing, architectural and structural), as well as onsite construction observation and administration for the project — a $9.73-million endeavor that was comfortably split between both communities. The resulting new Raymond-Elk Run Heights Wastewater Treatment Facility delivers safe, reliable performance, boosted flood resiliency, and long-term operational viability. More importantly, it mends the relationship between two close municipal neighbors and fortifies a commitment to collaborative, mutual success.
