Wastewater collection system improvements are planned to allow for residential growth and to take stress off smaller mains through central Sioux Center.
Sioux Center’s remarkable residential growth, especially in the north, is outpacing the capacity of the system of pumps and mains that bring wastewater across town to the city’s wastewater plant.
This week, the City Council approved taking the next steps toward adding a new lift station in northeast Sioux Center, a new wastewater force main along 13th St. E, and an expanded connection from the main to the wastewater plant.
“Infrastructure is what allows a community to continue to grow,” Mayor Dale Vander Berg said.
Sioux Center Municipal Utilities Manager Murray Hulstein said the improvements will be sized to anticipate ongoing growth in northeast Sioux Center. They are part of a long-term focus of alleviating strain on smaller mains in central Sioux Center. Some of these existing mains date back to the 1920s, when Sioux Center’s population was about 1,500 people. Sioux Center is more than 5 times that size today.
“Wastewater service is a fundamental community need for daily life and for growth,” Hulstein said. “This is a significant project, but it is an investment in the strength of Sioux Center today and as it grows.”
The need for this update has been anticipated for some time and was planned for in a 2022 Sanitary Sewer Collection System master plan. Construction is anticipated to begin on improvements in 2026.
Sioux Center Municipal Utilities maintains 44 miles of sanitary sewer lines and 10 lift stations, which collect wastewater from more than 2,500 homes and businesses and transport it to the wastewater treatment plant, where it is treated to high standards before being released.
