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(Cherokee, IA) -- The City of Cherokee in far Northwest Iowa is being allowed to temporarily discharge partially treated wastewater into the Little Sioux River. It comes over safety concerns after the city's wastewater treatment plant was damaged because of severe flooding that struck the region over the summer. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says in a press release that lately the city has been storing wastewater in equalization lagoons, which are now at risk of overflowing, potentially impacting their structural integrity. City staff plan to discharge up to 2 million gallons of wastewater over the next few weeks, until levels return to normal.
The temporary change comes after a request from the City of Cherokee and approval from the Iowa DNR. The DNR says work on additional short-term treatment options is underway.