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Des Moines Metropolitan
Wastewater Reclamation Authority
3000 Vandalia Road
Des Moines, IA 50317
515-323-8000
Plant Process
The 97 million gallon per day (MGD) wastewater treatment facility comprises more than half the $255,371,622 cost of the 15-year water pollution abatement program, one of the largest public works projects in Iowa history. State and federal grants funded just over 70% of the program cost. The program also includes interceptor sewers, equalization basins, and lift stations linking the communities in the WRA.
Please click on the links below to examine the plant processes
Maintenance Division
Mission Statement:
Provide maintenance support and services through heightened communications and total utilization of available resources, to prevent and predict equipment downtime in an efficient, safe and timely manner. Always striving to establish a higher standard of quality and efficiency in the most cost effective manner in a competitive, demanding and evolving maintenance best practice environment.
The Maintenance Division is lead by Bill Miller CMM, MMC Facilities Management and EAM System Administrator, where he has implemented Asset Sustainability Edition software in a Maintenance Best Practice environment. Bill's credentials include multiple certifications from the University of Wisconsin Engineering and Professional Development program, where he was involved with the TE2AM initiative to develop an outline for the PAS 55 Asset Management ISO standard commissioned by the U.S Department of Energy. Bill serves as an Ambassador & SIG on the Infor Global Solutions User Advisory Board, Iowa Water & Environment Association Board, and is a member of the Water Environment Federation, Society of Maintenance Reliability Professionals and the Iowa Water, Pollution Control Association, SPM Board for the City of Des Moines and Chairman of the WRF Safety Committee.
Operations Division
The WRF uses a combination of physical, biological, and chemical treatment processes to treat the wastewater as it flows through the plant. These treatment processes are generally classified into the following categories listed below.
- Influent Collection/Preliminary Treatment
- Primary Treatment
- Advanced Secondary Treatment
- Disinfection
- Waste Activated Sludge (WAS) Thickening
- Anaerobic Digestion
- Sludge Dewatering
- Biosolids Land Application
These processes produce two byproducts: high quality recycled wastewater discharged to the Des Moines River and treated biosolids that are land applied on farm fields for nutrient value and soil amendment.