American Water Enterprises
3100 South Lewis Blvd, RR6
Sioux City, IA 51106

Phone - 712-279-6916
Fax - 712-279-6191

Laboratory

The Sioux City, IA Wastewater Treatment Plant Laboratory consists of a Lab Manager, a Lab Supervisor and two Lab Technicians. All of the methods of testing and Standard Operating Procedures performed within this laboratory are based on the “Standard Methods of the Examination of Water and Wastewater 20th Edition.” The laboratory staff recently updated their Quality Control Program, updated all standard operating procedures, became recertified, completed all DMRQA (Discharge Monitoring Report – Quality Assurance) testing, replaced outdated equipment, and renovated their laboratory.


QA/QC (Quality Assurance/Quality Control) Program:

The Sioux City, IA laboratory wrote their own Standard Operating Procedures based on the 20th Edition of “Standard Methods…” in the year 2000. Due to their increased sample loadings and need for a Quality Assurance/Control Program, it was updated. Currently, every test that is performed within the laboratory is followed by a standard or blank to ensure that all data is accurate. The standards are then plotted on precision and accuracy sheets to ensure that each test will stay within acceptable limits. Each person within the laboratory has revisited and read through each Standard Operating Procedure.


Each year the laboratory sends DRMQA samples to an outside laboratory to test for accuracy and precision. The following parameters are tested to ensure that the laboratory is completing each test within acceptable ranges: Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Carbonaceous BOD, Total Suspended Solids, pH, Copper, Mercury, Zinc, Total Residual Chlorine, and Oil and Grease. Each tests was acceptable by DMRQA standards.

The laboratory is also certified by the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory every two years. An onsite audit is performed to ensure that all Standard Methods are acceptable. The Hygienic Laboratory also audits the effluent quality by performing Fecal Coliform Testing. This test along with the onsite audit was acceptable in 2006 and the laboratory was recertified.