(Radio Iowa) – A $53-million project south of Ames is part of an effort to reach targets in Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy. The Water Pollution Control Facility handles around six million gallons of wastewater daily from Ames, Iowa State University and the town of Kelley. John Dunn, director of Water and Pollution Control for Ames, says upgrades over the next decade aim to reduce nitrogen discharge by two-thirds and phosphorus by three-quarters. “It’s a mix of physical and biological processes,” Dunn says. “It’s really what happens in nature. We’re just forcing it to happen on an accelerated scale.”

During Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony, Ames Mayor John Haila said the upgrades will increase treatment capacity, which will support residential and industrial growth. Haila says the main goal is to cut down on nutrients entering the South Skunk River. Haila says, “So this is our effort to help reduce that while also meeting the goals of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy.” A complex series of tanks remove grit, grease and other gunk before the water is released into the river.

Other large wastewater facilities in the state are required to hit similar targets as part of Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy. It’s the state’s roadmap to curb nitrogen and phosphorus in Iowa waterways and the Gulf of Mexico.