What is the Utility Department and its function?
The Utility Department is a combination of the Water Dept, Sewer line Maintenance Dept, and Waste Treatment plant. The department’s primary function is the health and safety of the citizens of Oelwein.

A Who’s Who of the Utility Department
Vic Kane is the Superintendent of the Utility Department. Herb Doudney is the lead operator in the water and sewer line maintenance areas. Herb oversees fellow operators Randy Soll, Rod Williams and Steve Cherrier. Mike Scheidt is the lead operator and also the lab technician of the Waste Treatment plant. Mike oversees operations with fellow Waste Treatment operator Tim Weber. The billing and work orders are handled by Paula Reyerson at City Hall

What can I do to help control costs?
As with any utility conservation is the best why to help control cost. Installing water saving fixtures in homes or businesses provides a double benefit. It not only lowers your water consumption but your sewer usage as well. It can also help slow down the need to upgrade the water and sewer systems by allowing room for new users.

Secondly costs can be controled by voluntarily removing any ground water sources, by all homes or businesses, from the sewer system. Such as leaking sewer laterals, sump pumps, footing drains etc.

The sewer system is leaking from a combination of problems. The Utility department produces approximately eight hundred thousand (800,000) gallons of potable water a day. Yet on a heavy rain day the Waste Treatment plant treats over three million (3,000,000) gallons. That is over two million gallons (2,000,000) of Inflow and Infiltration that we all pay to treat. This I & I is also the driving factor in the mandated Waste Treatment Plant upgrade that is coming in the near future. If we all work together on this problem we can reduce the I & I to acceptable levels.

Subdepartments
Water Department
Wastewater Department
Sewer Line Maintenance

Current Projects
City Water Pressure Study
Yearly Quality Water Report

If you would like more information, please contact the Utility Department.

The Utility Department is located at 460 Seventh Ave SW in the Public Works Complex. Our hours are from 7:00 am to 12:00 and 12:30 to 3:30 pm Monday through Friday. For water or sewer questions during working hours call (319) 283–1197. For billing questions or to schedule work appointments call City Hall at (319) 283-5440 from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. For water or sewer emergencies, after working hours, on weekends or holidays, call 283-4311.

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History of the Water and Wastewater Departments

The Oelwein sewer system was established August 12th, 1901. The first treatment area was a septic tank & intermittent sand filter basin built on land that was condemned on April 8th 1902.

The Oelwein Waterworks was established December 19th, 1895. The following annual rates where adopted:
Barber shop, first chair - $4.00
Barber shop, each additional chair - $2.00
Bath tubs, public each - $10.00
Bath tubs, private each - $3.00
Banks - $5.00
Bakeries - $8.00
Butcher shops - $8.00
Brick yards - Special
Book binderies - Special
Buggy wash - $2.00
Building purposes per 1000 brick - $0.10
Building purposes per perch of stone - $0.05
Building purposes per 100 square yard of plaster - $0.20
Blacksmith shop, first fire - $3.00
Blacksmith shop, each additional fire - $2.00
Boarding and lodging house kitchens - $8.00
Boarding and lodging house per room - $0.25
Cigar factories, not over six men - $5.00
Churches - $4.00
Confectionaries - Special
Fountains, 6 hours per day, per season, 1/16in jet, - $5.00; 1/8in jet, - $8.00; 8/16in jet, - $12.00.
Halls - Special
Hose for sprinkling lot including sidewalks and washing windows per front ft - $0.10
Hotel - Special
Lumber yards - Special
Lunch rooms - $10.00
Lawn sprinkling 50 ft front per season - $3.00
Lawn per season each additional 50 ft front - $1.00
Laundries - Special
Office including one wash basin - $3.00
Photograph galleries - $8.00
Printing offices - $7.00
Residences, one family - $5.00
Residences, one family including one bath tub - $6.50
Residences, each additional family - $3.00
Residences, extra for lawn sprinkling, 50 ft front - $2.00
Restaurants - Special
Railroads depots - Special
Schools - Special
Stables, private, two horses including carriage washing - $3.00 including each additional horse - $0.75including private two cows - $2.00including each additional cow - $0.75
Stables livery, including carriage washing - Special
Steam boilers - Special
Soda fountains - $5.00
Saloons - $15.00
Stock yards - Special
Stores, including washing windows, sprinkling walks, and streets - $5.00 to $8.00
Urinals, private - $3.00
Urinals, public - Special
Wash basins, one free in each building, all others each - $1.00
Water closets, public - Special
Water closets, private - $2.00
Warehouses - Special
Water carts per 100 gallons - $0.05
Water motors - Special
Water for cisterns, per 100 gallons - $0.05
Meter rates; 100 to 500 gallons per day, per 1000 - $0.40
500 to 1000 gallons per day, per 1000 - $0.35
1000 to 2000 gallons per day, per 1000 - $0.30
Over 2000 gallons per day, per 1000 - Special

Rents and rates for other purposes not enumerated above and those marked “Special” shall be fixed by the Town Council.

Parties wishing to pay meter rates must furnish and set at their own expense a meter of approved pattern subject to the approval of the water committee.

Meter rates must be paid monthly.