City of Sioux Falls Enters Into Public-Private Agreement

The City of Sioux Falls Will Pay Up to $5,000 Dollars a Year to Utilize a "Haul Road" for Biosolid Waste Preservation.

Mapleton Township - Minnehaha County

September 5, 2022 - the City of Sioux Falls and Mapleton Township have reached an agreement to allow for the City of Sioux Falls to utilize a portion of one of its private roads located within their boundaries.

A half mile stretch of road owned by Mapleton Township will be used by the City to haul biosolids to the City's seasonal storage facility. The agreement allows the City to reimburse the Township up to $5,000 per year for additional maintenance costs which may be incurred by the Township. Per the agreement, the Township of Mapleton will continue to maintain authority of the road, allowing it to provide all the maintenance, construction costs, and any such repairs necessary.

Known as a "Haul Road" which is defined as any public road excluding the road under contract, which forms part of a materials haul route. The city plans on contracting to utilize roughly a half mile of 257th Street, of which the City of Sioux Falls owns and utilizes property near Slip Up Creek, in order to dump, store, and lay bio-solids. While the agreement between Mapleton Township and the City of Sioux Falls will allow for the "city" to use the "Haul Road", thus paying for the use of such road agreeing to pay up to $5,000 dollars per year to help maintain, construct, and manage the public road over the course of twelve months.

While the Township of Mapleton will be responsible for the road itself, as per the contract, they reserve the right to send invoices to the City in order to get reimbursed for road maintenance, construction, and taking care of the road, due to the extra traffic that will take place during the contractual period.

BioSolids Waste

Bio-solids are defined by the E.P.A as are a product of the wastewater treatment process, of which, during wastewater treatment the liquids are separated from the solids. Those solids are then treated physically and chemically to produce a semisolid, nutrient-rich product known as biosolids. The terms ‘biosolids’ and ‘sewage sludge’ are often used interchangeably. Biosolids that are to be beneficially used must meet federal and state requirements. Examples of beneficial use include application to agricultural land and reclamation sites. When applied to land at the appropriate agronomic rate, biosolids provide a number of benefits including nutrient addition, improved soil structure, and water reuse. Land application of biosolids also can have economic and waste management benefits. Biosolids also may be disposed of by incineration, landfilling, or other forms of surface disposal.

Biosolids must be applied to land at the appropriate agronomic rate which is the sludge application rate designed to provide the amount of nitrogen needed by the crop or vegetation grown on the land. Agronomic rate is dependent on crop type, geographic location, and soil characteristics, of which biosolids have been used successfully to establish sustainable vegetation, reduce the bioavailability of toxic substances often found in soils, control soil erosion, and regenerate soil layers at sites that have damaged soils. Soil regeneration is very important for reclaiming sites with little or no topsoil, and have been found to promote rapid timber growth, allowing quicker and more efficient harvest of an important natural resource.

The History of Mapleton Township (Minnehaha County-South Dakota)

Originally called Sherman and later named after the Maple River, Mapleton has endured many iconic periods in history. It has survived the Dakota Conflict, the Civil War and the Great Depression and these hardships and advancements have made Mapleton the spirited place it is today.

In the spring of 1856, Uriah Payne became the first to settle Mapleton. Slowly, others arrived for the remaining land, including a colony of settlers from New York that has been named the “Mapleton Colony.” These men and women sought farmland that was similar to the homeland they left behind. The first government system of Mapleton appears odd to the public today but was common during those times. The government was run by a director, trustees, recorder, justice of the peace and constable; each of whom was elected each year. Today, we know some of these positions as mayor and city council who serve for a set term rather than annual elections.

After battling through the Great Depression, the area began to gradually improve in condition and population and soon the council could focus on new projects to better the community.

One tradition Mapleton continues to celebrate is the birthday of Robert Burns, the famous Scottish poet. What began as small celebrations on local farms, eventually fostered the creation of a new club, The Maple River Burns Club. Another interest shared by many in the area was curling and so the Heather Curling Club was created – the oldest curling club in Minnesota. Even today, curling is enjoyed as a sport and hobby by many of Mapleton’s residents.

Mapleton is defined by many of its illustrious clubs and organizations. Before long, the Maple River Burns Club and Heather Curling Club were joined by the dance group Kilties, followed by the American Legion, Boy Scouts, Chamber of Commerce, Farmers Union, Mapleton Farm Bureau, Mapleton Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Mapleton Seroma Club, Order of the Eastern Star, Over 60 Club, Rebekah Lodge, Royal Neighbors of America, and Saddle Club.

Today Mapleton remains an active and historically rich township. Citizens continue to honor past traditions while still looking optimistically towards the future.

What Does the City of Sioux Falls Do With the Biosolid Waste?

As wastewater comes to the plant through pipes. The city screens out plastics, paper and other materials. The bacteria thrive on the waste in aeration basins, each provided with blowers to add oxygen and mix the food and bacteria.

What Does the City of Sioux Falls Do With the Biosolid Waste?

Sioux Falls WasteWater Reclamation Facility

Sioux Falls takes in 18 million to 20 million gallons of wastewater daily. Of that, 99 percent is water - from things like dishwater, sinks and laundry. Only about 0.4 percent of the wastewater solid material - suspended or dissolved solids, and only part of that is human. And after all that water returns to the Waste Reclamation Plant, where it goes through the reclamation process of separating, removing the waste, and replenishing the water, the bacteria then die and end up in the city's sludge holding lagoons. The material settles to the bottom where it further decomposes. About twice a year, the ponds are cleaned out and the material is taken to farm fields.

One of the areas the City of Sioux Falls is depositing, and storing Biosolid waste, is within the Mapleton Township, along the Slip Up Creek.

From there, the City plans, and prepares the biosolids to be used by the farmers themselves, and we shall find out, many farmers are thankful for the opportunity to re-use, recycle all that waste, by utilizing it as fertilizer for their crop fields.

According to the news publication, Inforum, of which published an article - Biosolids protect landfills, offer free fertilizer: Sioux Falls gets win-win with waste — a valuable fertilizer - farmers Tom Brown and his son Joey Brown of Brandon, S.D., who also sell Pioneer seed through their Brown Seed and Crop Protection, LLC love the opportunity to purchase the solid waste from the city, "It helps the city and it helps us grow our crops," Tom says.

Sioux Falls is preparing for a system that in 2019 will allow sterilized material to go on lawns, gardens and tree farms.

So, not only is the City of Sioux Falls finding a purpose for all those gallons of 'wastewater' that leaves your home, they are, through the process of reclaiming the water, taking the biosolid waste from the sewer, transporting it to fields across the region, allowing it to settle, preparing it for the farmers within the area to utilize as fertilizer.

For the "residents" of Mapleton Township, which is predominantly a Farming Community, not only are they thankful to the City of Sioux Falls, but the City is repaying them the favor, by helping to maintain their public roads within the Township itself.