University of Iowa Civil Engineering Professor Craig Just has worked with wastewater and treatment solutions for over 30 years. His most recent project, a small-scale wastewater treatment solution, is currently being evaluated against federal regulations.
Wastewater is runoff stormwater or water that has been contaminated by humans and animals. In Iowa, the majority of this water is treated at large wastewater plants or in big lagoons. Iowa City’s plant alone treats around 8 million gallons of water a day. These solutions have been normalized across the U.S. with few alternatives until now.
The university recently announced a pilot system directly worked on by Just that could deeply impact how small-town Iowa gets its water. If it does, hundreds of small towns across Iowa will be able to use this technology for their wastewater.
Just described the system as a wastewater plant in a shipping container, likening it to a treatment appliance.
“It’s meant to be as simple to use as an iPhone,” he said. “You buy it as a gadget, hook it up, and someone provides support for it. It’s not as simple as that, but it’s meant to be something you can buy off the shelf.”
The project in Dow City was a collaborative effort made by different organizations. One of the key players is BES Water Solutions. This company is based out of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and focuses on providing communities with restorative and sustainable water treatment solutions. Nathan Seberg, BES Water Solutions’ business director, worked in tandem with Just.
“I was the boots on the ground, the person organizing, making sure everything was set up on more of the manual labor side,” Seberg said. “I helped get the system installed.”
Just and Seberg first met during the summer of 2020 as they started developing systems and ideas for these containers. They continued working together, and in 2024, the current system began being tested in Dow City on their wastewater lagoon. Just detailed the treatment process that is performed by these shipping containers.
“The process takes about a day at least in Dow City. It can pretty much treat the water on demand because the system is running at all times. The water coming in is treated and released. It doesn’t take very long — it can do 30,000 gallons per day. It’s small but it works pretty well,” he said.
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Seberg currently runs the wastewater system’s operations in Dow City. He visits the treatment plant weekly to confirm the system is running as it should.
Another vital company in this wastewater project is ISG Engineering. ISG’s leading wastewater engineer, Leonard Larson, is a UI alum who has worked with both Just and Seberg to develop the project.
“[ISG Engineering] was hired by Dow City to look into their wastewater facility,” Larson said. “I wanted to see if there was an opportunity to try something different, so I connected with Seberg and he was working with Just at that time.”
ISG Engineering was brought in and got involved with the project in 2022. Larson recognized both Just and Seberg’s work on the treatment plant from the very beginning.
“Just’s team is invaluable,” he said. “Seberg had been collecting data for three years or so at the Dow City facility in conjunction with us. Just and his team evaluated and worked with the data to develop a system that would work for [wastewater treatment] applicants.”
This project comes after years of research, funding, advocacy, and partnerships. Just said his time at the UI helped build the connections that helped the project succeed.
“I’ve been at the university for 32 years,” Just said. “Some of the professional engineers you need to design this are alumni of our program and people that I know. That also drives these projects a little bit because some folks might have sentimental value and want to work with the college [where] they went to school. I think ties like this make these projects special.”
Just said he is continuing his work on multiple projects as the new wastewater treatment system is up for federal approval. He said he likes to stay busy by working on multiple projects at at a time.
“We definitely want to see this expand,” Just said.
The Dow City wastewater treatment system will be reviewed by the Department of Natural Resources this coming February. Once the solution gains approval, distribution is likely the next task.