Rural Community Sewers

Before state wastewater standards went into effect in the 1960s, raw sewage could flow directly to a stream without treatment. Despite the standards, this continues in many areas today. In areas called "unsewered communities," outdated or poorly functioning septic tanks still allow untreated wastewater into our waters. 

The Iowa DNR works with these communities to find funding sources and alternative treatment systems and to allow adequate time to upgrade the systems. As a number of communities across the state have shown, there are affordable options for building a community wastewater treatment system to protect residents' health and water quality.

  • Rural community sewers fact sheet
  • Successful community projects
  • Frequently asked questions

An unsewered community doesn't have to be an incorporated city. A "community" has 10 or more residential homes with one or more houses per acre. It's "unsewered" if it lacks a central sewage treatment system or if most of its septic systems don't meet state standards.

There's assistance and information available for unsewered communities. Please refer to the links below, or go to the private septic systems page for further information.

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Getting Started

Technical and financial assistance are available if your community needs to explore options for adequate wastewater treatment. First, contact your local DNR field office or a regional utility management organization in your area for help understanding the planning process and finding financial assistance.

Regional Utility Management Organizations (UMOs)

While a utility management organization can help your community search and apply for funding to install a wastewater system, there are also other funding opportunities to consider.

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Funding Options

Community leaders will want to hire an engineer to evaluate the community's needs and propose solutions. The Iowa DNR has developed information on alternative wastewater treatment options that your engineer may want to explore. 

Once an engineer has prepared a plan to address the wastewater needs of your community, residents will want to review the plan, evaluate options, discuss the affordability of each option and decide where to apply for funding. 

Community leaders may want to hold public meetings to determine which options are best for the community.

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Disadvantaged Community Status - NPDES Permits & Wastewater Compliance

Some communities, urban or rural, incorporated or unincorporated, may qualify as "disadvantaged" with regards to meeting federal and state wastewater regulations. The Iowa DNR's disadvantaged community rules implement Iowa Code 455B.199B, which establishes the criteria to be used when determining if ratepayers or a community will experience substantial and widespread economic and social impact and qualify as disadvantaged as a result of complying with wastewater regulations.

Owners of wastewater disposal systems may apply for disadvantaged status when there are new requirements in their proposed or reissued National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit or an Administrative Order from the Iowa DNR. These new requirements will most often be part of a compliance schedule in a proposed or reissued NPDES permit or Administrative Order. Unsewered communities may apply for disadvantaged status prior to the issuance or amendment of an Administrative Order with new requirements. Communities may also apply for disadvantaged status for for the purposes of a grant to install or upgrade wastewater facilities under the Wastewater and Drinking Water Treatment Financial Assistance Program (WTFAP).

Please see the following links for more information on how to qualify as a disadvantaged community with regards to meeting federal and state wastewater regulations.

Additional Information

  • Description of Alternatives Report and Alternatives Implementation Compliance Plan for Sewered Communities (for those with an NPDES permit)
  • Description of Alternatives Report and Alternatives Implementation Compliance Plan for Unsewered Communities (for those without an NPDES permit)
  • Compliance Schedule Tables (for both)
  • Disadvantaged Community Flowchart - Sewered and Unsewered (for both)
  • Unemployment Rates from the Iowa Workforce Information Network
  • Median Household Income information from the  Iowa Data Center
  • Wastewater and Drinking Water Treatment Financial Assistance Program Grant Information - Iowa Finance Authority SRF Website
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Disadvantaged Community Status - CWSRF Loans

In an effort to develop a more comprehensive definition of what it means to be a disadvantaged community for the purposes of loan forgiveness, the Iowa Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) Program has broadened the range of evaluation metrics to include social, economic, and demographic information that may indicate a lack of access to affordable clean water and safe drinking water.

These metrics define the affordability criteria that will be used to evaluate the disadvantaged status of a borrower. Disadvantaged status for the purpose of CWSRF loan forgiveness eligibility will be determined by assessing 15 datapoints from publicly available sources produced by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Iowa Workforce Development, Iowa Department of Management, and the State Treasurer of Iowa. Data will be updated annually for each community and made available at IowaSRF.com.

The CWSRF program will use this data to determine if a borrower meets the affordability criteria for the purpose of SRF loan forgiveness eligibility. These metrics are discussed in more detail in the “Socioeconomic Assessment Section” section of Annex A to the CWSRF Intended Use Plan (IUP). The Socioeconomic Assessment Tool and the IUP are available on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law SRF Information webpage.

For more information on qualifying as disadvantaged for the purposes of CWSRF loan forgiveness eligibility, please email Water-infrastructure@dnr.iowa.gov.

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