"You need management; you need to know what is going on with the tests, which is basically chemistry, you need a little bit of everything," said Jim Pergande Algona's Wastewater Superintendent since 1979 and a city employee for 36 years.
A diverse skill set is a must for the head of a department that has to manage not only thousands of gallons of used water, but the entire sanitary sewer system and the concerns of residents whose service may have failed.
Algona operates a non-chemical filtration system that reaches approximately from the county shed on U.S. Highway 169 on the north, the Kossuth Regional Health Center in the south, Algona Country Club in the west and Snap On in the east. To manage the waste water facility, near the edge of town on S. McGregor, Pergande had to earn a Class 3 Operator certification from the state of Iowa.
For a typical day first orders of business include collecting samples for testing, checking pumps and finding the amount of water processed the previous day. Other daily chores include a physical, brush test and chemical testing, scheduled tests check for pollutants such as nitrogen and heavy metals. Ultimately the final destination for city water is back into the Des Moines river.
Another daily activity is working with Algona residents. Most residents who contact Pergande with sewer backups eventually find the problem within their own home. Sometimes though, a backup is a clue that some component of the city's sewer infrastructure is in need of maintenance. In either case Pergande said he is happy to help residents discover the source of their problem.
"For me that's all part of the job. We want to know too why you're having that problem," Pergande said. "You don't know what's going on in the system unless you have somebody approach you. You can't see through the ground to that system."
At least once every three years though, many parts of the system do receive close scrutiny. The department uses a pressure washer to clear out a third of the system each year. Starting in 1996 it follows the cleansing with a remote camera to try to pre-diagnose any possible trouble spots. Pergande said the inspection has helped significantly to curb disturbances caused by things like collapsed tiles or roots growing through lines.
Not every day typical though. During and after heavy rains, water from storm sewers, managed by the street department, can get into the sewer system causing a large increase in flow. Four to five inches of rain overnight can add enough volume to stress system capacity. That is one of the reasons Pergande said he has to watch the weather and consider himself always on call.
Properly managed the existing waste water system should be able to serve Algona comfortably for the foreseeable future, but an engineering firm has been hired to assess the city's needs and possibilities for upgrade. The first change, probably to come next year, will be disinfection of the treated water.
The change, prompted by a state reclassification of the Des Moines river, will involve installing equipment similar to a set of light bulbs to disinfect water before it leaves the plant.
Pergande said the most rewarding part of his job is knowing that he is doing the best job he can for the city and keeping everything running smoothly - even if the recognition only comes when they don't.
"(Residents) don't say you're doing a good job, unless something is happening that they need help. Most of the time they figure that goes along with the job, which I do too."
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Jim Pergande
Title: Waste Water Superintendent
Years of Service: 26 with city, 23 in current position
Salary: $48,165
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