City of New Albin makes plans for new wastewater treatment plant

by Anne Falken,
correspondent

This past September, and for the past 88 years, the Water Environment Federation (WEF), an organization of engineers and industries related to wastewater, water and water reuse, has held a highly regarded Technical Exhibition and Conference showcasing the latest quality research and technology in those fields. New Albin and its City Council are poised to take advantage of some this cutting edge technology, as they search for a new wastewater system for New Albin.
Algaewheel, a wastewater treatment system developed and patented by the OneWater company out of Indianapolis, IN, was recognized as one of the ten most innovative systems in wastewater treatment and water reuse at the conference. Two New Albin City Council members, George Blair and Josh Dreps, visited OneWater to see the Algaewheel in operation.
Algaewheel uses an algae growth process to manage wastewater treatment in a sustainable manner, as a self-regulating ecosystem. Its modular design has few mechanical parts, it can be added on to, it looks like a greenhouse, has solar energy capabilities, it doesn’t smell, and it’s quiet. Its market is with small cities, state parks, schools and other institutions. It is even being marketed in developing countries, where connecting to a central sanitary sewer is not possible or is too expensive. OneWater markets itself as a very environmentally conscious company. Their website reminds visitors that fresh water is a finite resource. The New Albin City Council, with Councilman Blair taking on much the project research, first heard of this technology from a young engineer, Jeremy Bril of Fehr Graham engineers, out of West Union.
Algaewheel is new but growing in popularity across the country. In 2015, Oldcastle Precast, the leading manufacturer of precast and polymer concrete and plastics in the United States, signed an exclusive agreement with Algaewheel Technologies, LLC, to sell Algaewheel technology as part of its decentralized wastewater treatment systems in the United States. They say, “there are huge green benefits to this technology in that as algae grows through photosynthesis (solar energy usage), it produces oxygen and uses CO2. The carbon footprint of the systems is significantly smaller, and the resulting biomass is a renewable energy source.”
Although the technology is growing, there are no Algaewheel systems so far in Iowa. New Albin could be the first, and a showcase city for this innovative, economical and environmentally sound wastewater treatment and reuse system. The next step is receiving approval of Algaewheel from the Department of Natural Resources.