PROJECT SUMMARY
What do five communities and countless farmers and industries spread across three states and two Environmental Protection Agency regions share in common? A newly expanded wastewater system in need of professional services that would successfully meet their varying and often competing needs for wastewater treatment, industrial pretreatment and land application of biosolids. In 1982, Sioux City, Iowa, was trying to resolve these issues when it partnered with a Veolia Water North America (formerly USFilter Operating Services, Inc.) affiliate for the professional operation and management of its 30-million-gallon-per-day (MGD) wastewater system. The system serves "Siouxland," which includes the communities of Sioux City and Sergeant Bluff, Iowa; North Sioux City and Dakota Dunes, South Dakota; and South Sioux City, Nebraska, and treats a population-equivalent of 500,000.

Sioux City had completed the expansion of its wastewater system in 1979, along with the addition of four sludge storage lagoons with a capacity of 14 million gallons each. Industries such as bakeries, meat processors and vegetable refineries produced and sent substantial organic waste into the system. By 1983, the lagoons had reached their peak holding capacity and the City was looking for a long-term solution for sludge disposal that would meet the varying needs of all the municipal and industrial stakeholders, while continuing to meet the treatment and environmental compliance needs of the three states from where the wastewater was received. After careful study, Sioux City determined that land application of liquid sludge was the most cost-effective and environmentally acceptable solution. The City again partnered with the Veolia affiliate that was already working with the City to manage its wastewater treatment plant. What began as a simple contract in 1982 to operate and manage the City's then newly expanded wastewater treatment plant has blossomed over the past 20 years into a partnership in the truest sense of the word.

Veolia continues to operate the 30-MGD wastewater treatment project, providing estimated savings to the City of almost $10 million to-date. The partnership has reduced capital costs for the City while improving compliance and reliability: Veolia has performed significant maintenance and improvements to the system's eight lift stations and computerized SCADA systems. Additionally, the company added new blowers that reduced power costs. A non-potable water system capable of saving the City money in treated water costs and preserving a natural resource was also installed to recycle effluent for process water.

Originality
Serving the equivalent of 500,000 people across five communities, three states, and two EPA regions demands forward thinking and ingenuity on the part of both the municipality and its private sector partner. Sioux City investigated the feasibility of land application of sludge, and with the help of Veolia, stayed the course over many years despite an initial lukewarm response from area farmers. Veolia and the city also took the unique step of allowing certain industries to directly transport waste to the plant, reducing area industries' cost of operations while improving the city's environmental compliance. The additional methane gas produced as a result of the direct treatment process is recycled in-hose to reduce organic loadings in the plant influent and lower wastewater treatment operations costs for the City. More importantly, the commercial risk of extracting methane gas from the treatment process was shifted from the municipality to the private sector partner - one of the first applications of performance-based evaluation criteria in the North American market.

Quality and Implementation
Veolia initially partnered with the City to provide operation and management services for the Sioux City Wastewater Treatment Facility, which serves the five communities commonly referred to as "Siouxland." As these communities faced new challenges and formulated solutions, they turned to Veolia to successfully turn their ideas into reality. Veolia not only achieved their goals with aplomb, but also saved these communities million of dollars in the process. The City works very closely with Veolia in formulating the annual and five-year capital improvement programs, and, thanks to Veolia's buying power, they are able to enjoy costs-savings on those purchases.

Veolia's access to resources and experts around the world enabled it to service the City's unique needs - needs that are often out-of-scope. For example, the 30-MGD wastewater treatment plant was never designed for odor control measures. Yet the presence of food processing industries and the resulting heavy organic loadings demand the City's attention. Sioux City turned to Veolia and its depth of expertise to successfully mitigate the odors and meet EPA requirements. The staff at the plant recently volunteered to assist with the evaluation of a broken city-line in South Sioux City. Staff members sampled and gathered information for the State and the EPA, assisting the City in its effort to complete the project in a fast and efficient manner.

The City considers the various industries, such as meat processors and vegetable refineries, located in "Siouxland" as equal partners in protecting the environment and has once again turned to Veolia to meet these industries' unique needs. The industrial pretreatment program has resulted in cost savings for both Sioux City and the industries. Certain companies are allowed to directly transport the waste into the plant, thus saving them pretreatment costs. The successful odor control program ensures that the industries and the City meet EPA regulations, while maintaining a pleasant environment for the people living in these communities. The City and USFilter further reduced costs by implementing the methane gas recovery and reuse program.

When the sludge storage lagoons reached their holding capacity and the City decided that land application of that sludge was the solution, it was Veolia that suggested that the responsibility for hauling the sludge be placed on the company as well, thus saving the City money and transferring risk to the private sector contractor. Today, demand exceeds supply for the award-winning program, and farmers report that farms fertilized with biosolids are more productive than those not receiving the product.

Just as the City considers Veolia an equal partner in the day-to-day operations of the wastewater system, Veolia considers itself an equal partner with the five communities that it serves. Both Veolia and its employees support and volunteer their efforts for various community endeavors. Whether it is providing support to the United Way, the Benevolent Protective Order of the Elks, and the local Sheriffs Department, or supporting future generations through various educational programs, Veolia and its employees believe that a true partnership with a community must include a financial and personal commitment to improving the community.

Economics
The operation and management of the wastewater treatment plant has saved the City more than $600,000 per year since 1995, and savings now total more than $4.2 million. In addition, the capture and reuse of methane gas (the commercial risk and responsibility of which is placed on Veolia) within plant operations has netted the City approximately $750,000 since the program was initiated in 1997, and the land application of Class B biosolids has saved the City millions. These savings now total almost $10 million. However, the savings in the form of lowered operations costs to area framers and industries that rely on cost-efficient plant operations are innumerable. The land application of biosolids saves the farmers the cost of fertilizer as well as saving time and costs of tilling the land. Area industries are assured that their waste is treated in full compliance with the law, negating the need for treatment in-house, and some industries are allowed to directly transport their waste to the treatment plant rather than go through municipal lines, further reducing their costs.

Public-Private Partnership
Veolia and the City of Sioux City entered into a public-private partnership in 1982. The contractual agreement ensures that the city retains full-ownership of the Sioux City Wastewater Treatment facility and designates Veolia to manage the facility's day-to-day operations. Veolia is also responsible for the management of the industrial pretreatment program, industrial billing, and the biosoilds program, which includes the land application of sludge. The partnership provides the City with powerful financial incentives, lowered operating costs, guaranteed performance, solid control measures, and ensured regulatory compliance.