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Slater reports completed sewer plant project, county ARPA grant helped offset costs
Summary
City of Slater officials told the Story County Board the $8 million sewer treatment facility completed in December 2023 is performing well; a $500,000 ARPA grant from Story County helped fund the project and ammonia discharges are well under Iowa DNR limits.
Jennifer Davies, city administrator/clerk for the City of Slater, briefed the Story County Board on April 8 about Slater’s sewer treatment facility project, which the city accepted in December 2023.
Davies said the project had an approximate cost near $8,000,000 and that Slater received $500,000 from Story County’s ARPA allocation toward the work. She reported the plant’s ammonia discharge in the most recent quarter ranged from 0.1 to 0.6 (units reported as “per liter” in the staff remarks) compared with an Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) maximum of 3.9 per liter; staff described the plant as exceeding requirements. The treatment uses a process by Grossman Technology; Davies said the technology should meet upcoming DNR requirements with little additional cost or modification.
Davies said Grossman Technology maintains a demo unit on site and hosts several visiting groups monthly, including out‑of‑state delegations, and that the firm employs about 26 people. The company is testing footprint reductions for future installations and has begun converting algae produced by the treatment process into fertilizer; Slater expects revenue share from fertilizer production and said the city anticipates receiving its first payment soon.
Supervisors asked about microplastics and PFAS (“forever chemicals”) in sludge and fertilizer. Davies said she did not know whether Grossman Technology has tested for microplastics or PFAS and that she would ask them. No county action or additional funding requests were made during the presentation.
All factual statements above are drawn from the city’s presentation to the board and the public staff record at the April 8 meeting.
