Officials with the Iowa Dept. Of Natural Resources said today (Tuesday) that the City of Mapleton had begun discharging untreated wastewater into the Maple River, after planned repairs on the wastewater treatment plant were delayed. The City began routing wastewater to polishing ponds on May 15th, to enable repairs to a wall in the plant. The ponds filled to capacity Monday after heavy rains. The City began discharging wastewater to prevent damage to the ponds.

Contractors are expected to complete repairs by Wednesday or Thursday. The DNR cautions people to keep children and pets away from the area for 24 hours after repairs are completed. The repairs were scheduled in April after a wall between two sections of the treatment system failed.