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Wastewater plant earns top DNR score; council hears biosolids dryer, gas and storage plans
Summary
Superintendent Cody Shepke told the Fond du Lac City Council the wastewater plant received a 4 out of 4 from the DNR and outlined a biosolids dryer, biogas cleanup for pipeline injection and a storage silo; council approved the compliance maintenance report unanimously.
The Fond du Lac City Council on June 10 approved Resolution 9245, the Compliance Maintenance Annual Report for the city’s wastewater treatment and resource recovery facility, after Superintendent Cody Shepke said the plant received a “4 out of 4” rating from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Shepke told council members the rating evaluates categories including water quality, capacity, biosolids quality, staffing and financial standing. “We received a 4 out of 4,” he said. He described several ongoing projects intended to improve operations and reduce costs, including a biosolids heat dryer that will produce a higher-quality fertilizer product and an on-site silo to provide roughly one month of storage for dried material.
“We’re taking our current biosolids and running it through a heat dryer, to make a high quality product,” Shepke said. He added the plant will clean biogas produced in digestion to “natural gas quality” and seek to inject it into the pipeline, generating revenue and reusing gas produced at the plant.
Shepke also discussed phosphorus-control work. He said the plant has reduced phosphorus discharge over the past decade and expects a new, lower permit limit later this fall; staff plan additional monitoring of effluent and biosolids during the permit cycle. He described a water-quality trading pilot with the county airport that will convert agricultural acreage to native grasses and grass waterways to generate credits to offset elevated phosphorus during wet weather.
Council members asked how the DNR scoring works and about the apprenticeship program at the plant; Shepke said the DNR uses an internal reporting tool that scores submitted data, and he highlighted a fourth year of a youth apprenticeship program that places local high-school students at the plant. He noted one former apprentice returned as an intern at UW–Stevens Point and now works at the plant.
The council thanked Shepke and his staff for the operations and the apprenticeship work and voted to approve the compliance report. The motion passed unanimously; the meeting record does not list a numerical roll-call tally. Shepke said the biosolids and gas projects are on track to begin construction, with startup targeted for this fall and potential operation early in 2027.
