The Village of Creston was being served by a sewer system which had a two-cell waste stabilization lagoon system in 1969. The existing lagoon system lacked sufficient storage capacity and the discharge lines were leaking. Additionally, the lagoons were constructed in the 100 year flood plain and did not have adequate separation from the bottom elevation of the cells and the groundwater table.
The Village needed to create a new sanitary sewer system that would correct all the problems that it was facing. And, the system did not meet the standards for a wastewater system.
In the end, the Village of Creston constructed a new land application lagoon system, including a primary cell and a storage cell northeast of the Village, out of the flood plain. The wastewater system also includes a new lift station with two submersible pumps. The abandoned site of the existing wastewater treatment lagoons was reverted to a wetlands area. The Village of Creston now has a reliable system that is within all the standards set by the State of Nebraska of Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
Where did the dollars come to accomplish this project? USDA Rural Development provided funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for sanitary sewer system improvements, with a $498,000 low interest rate, 40 year direct loan and a grant of $692,724. The total project costs were $1,190,724, which is $97,276 less than the original project estimate of $1,288,000.