April 21, 2005

Mason City Radium Removal Project Wins National Recognition Award

Mason City’s new water treatment facility won a National Recognition Award in the American Council of Engineering Companies 39th annual Engineering Excellence Awards competition, sponsored by the American Council of Engineering Companies. (ACEC).

The new 9.5 million gallon per day (mgd) treatment plant uses a process called electrodialysis reversal (EDR) to remove the radium from the city’s raw water. The process uses an electric current to separate dissolved minerals, including radium, from the water. Mason City’s plant is the second largest installation of EDR in the U.S. and the third largest installation of the EDR in the world. Mason City is likely one of only two plants in the world to reverse the primary intent of the process and use it primarily to remove radium. The radium removal process also softens the city’s naturally hard water, lessening dependence on home water softeners and improving water quality.

The new treatment plant is part of a comprehensive water system upgrade that included improvements to the city’s raw and treated water mains, booster pump station and wells. Mason City (pop. 30,000) entrusted Stanley Consultants to be its design engineer and construction manager to orchestrate the $18 million project. Of this, $6.5 million was funded through federal grant funds specifically earmarked for the project through Stanley Consultants’ grantsmanship efforts.

The EDR equipment is located in a new 21,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility that displays a Prairie School architectural theme. It operates through a high level of automation, and is equipped with a comprehensive security system. Corrosion-resistant materials, plastic, stainless steel and painted galvanized steel, were used throughout to combat rust and erosion.

Radium removal is a problem municipalities in Iowa are just beginning to address. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has cited 34 Iowa communities with similar radium issues. As one of the largest EDR plants in the world, the Mason City plant will likely be used as a model for similar facilities.

The water softening by-product of the system has been a pleasant surprise to Mason City’s residential and industrial community. Many residents have completely abandoned their home softening systems, realizing a cost savings in maintaining and running the system. The economic benefits of the water softening have been significant for large water users that maintained their own water treatment plants. Some report costs savings between $400,000 and $600,000 year.

The project was completed on June 1, 2004, the scheduled completion date. "All of our goals have been met," said Mason City Public Works Director Dirk Jablonski. "On a scale of 1 to 10 I’d say it was a 9.5."