Waterloo Sewage Releases Garner Fines

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — An engineering consultant has told the Waterloo City Council that the city faces a fine and must make costly improvements to its sewer system.

A city legal team and an engineering consultant have been negotiating a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice. The decree is expected to be ready for signing by September and will call for several costly projects to avoid future overflows. The city has had to release untreated sewage from its overmatched system during heavy rains.

Consultant Bob Bamsey told the council on Monday that "this is going to be painful. There are certain financial obligations you're going to undertake that will be significant." But Bamsey couldn't say how big the bills ahead were going to be.