Water Treatment Lime

The City of Newton's Utilities Department Water Treatment Plant uses calcium oxide (Quick Lime) to produce safe and quality drinking water for the citizens of Newton. After treatment, a byproduct of the lime is a sludge that gets discharged to a lagoon that is 8.25 acres at a depth of 6 ft southwest of the Treatment Plant. The City has a contract with a company that utilizes an excavator to stockpile the lime sludge within the lagoon and allows it to dry to a consistency that it can be hauled away. The contractor then loads the lime, hauls, and sells it to local farmers, as it is an excellent application as ag lime for row crops. The contractor is responsible for annually removing 10,000 to 16,000 tons of lime sludge from the lagoon. They are removing a maximum of 16,000 tons to start depleting the excess lime in the lagoon. The height of the lime towards the middle is approximately 8 ft above the perimeter ground level (shown in the photo). Once the quantity of lime within the lagoon satisfies the IDNR, we will reduce the removal amount to maintain the lagoon's capacity, per IDNR requirements.