Sewer Department

The City of Waukee opted into the Des Moines Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Authority (WRA) in 2006 which allows for additional sanitary sewer capacity to meet the needs of the growing Waukee community.

In 2020, the City of Waukee deconstructed its wastewater treatment plant after the City constructed a 30-inch to 42-inch diameter gravity trunk sewer to connect Waukee’s system to the WRA’s sanitary sewer system. This connection allows for the entire community’s sanitary sewer utility (which consists of 113.75 miles of gravity sewer, 16.65 miles of pressure sewer and 2,516 manholes) to flow to the WRA Wastewater Reclamation Facility (WRF) located on the east side of Des Moines (nearly 23 miles away). The purpose of the sanitary sewer collection system is to carry sanitary waste from homes and businesses in Waukee to the WRA’s WRF. 

There are currently a total of nine permanent sewage lift stations and 101 E-One grinder pump stations. Lift stations and grinder pumps move sewage from a low lying collection well to a higher point in the system where the sewage can gravity flow to the WRF. The City sends approximately 698.789 million gallons of sewage to the WRF per year for treatment. That’s approximately 1.91 million gallons per day!