By: Chris Gilson, cgilson@cbs4qc.com
Millions of gallons of untreated sewage water go into the Mississippi River from Bettendorf. That's what the Iowa DNR said happens each year.
Area leaders are working on a plan that could stop so much human waste from flowing into the river.
With so much sewage going into the Mississippi, there's concern that e. coli could lurk in the river.
So that's why the DNR and EPA are working with Bettendorf, Davenport, Riverdale and Panorama Park to fix their sewer system.
All four of the cities' sewer systems are connected, so when there are heavy rains the Iowa DNR said the Davenport water treatment plant gets backed up.
"So Bettendorf has several areas where they release untreated waste water mixed with this rain water out to the Mississippi River," said Dennis Ostwinkle of the Iowa DNR.
Untreated waste water that can pour into the river at a high rate.
"It could amount to tens of thousands of gallons on each event," said Ostwinkle.
A surprising stat for an avid water skier like Ralph Heninger of Bettendorf.
"It concerns me because I'm jumping into the Mississippi River 3–4 times a week during the warmer months, but I've known it wasn't always the cleanest river," said Heninger.
So now cities like Bettendorf are looking at a possible plan that could significantly reduce the amount of waste seeping into the river.
"The plan itself is a 20 year plan, but there's a lot of unknowns," said Bettendorf Mayor Bob Gallagher.
The Mayor said the first step of the plan could take about a decade alone.
"Clean the sewer lines and other intrusions that we haven't cleaned in years and years," said Mayor Gallagher.
But, the Mayor said there won't be anymore sewer tax increases other than the ones already in place for the next three years.
"Not above the increase that we already instituted it happened last year when we had stair step increases in sewer rates," said the Mayor.
All the cities have to agree on the plan before work can be done.
Bettendorf City Council will be voting on the plan at their meeting on February 19th.
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