History
Electricity has been flowing in Denison since 1894. At this early date, electricity was used in a minimal manner. The main use was to run pumps that piped water into the water system and to light a few businesses that happened to be along the route of the electrical lines.
The people of Denison realized by late 1913 that electricity was becoming more of a necessity than a luxury and proceeded to develop a municipal electric utility. On January 22, 1914, a special election was held and there was an overwhelming vote of 496 to 107 in favor of the City of Denison purchasing and extending the privately owned light plant. The city obtained possession of the electric light plant on May 1, 1914 after reaching a compromise on the price for the electric light plant and three lots bordering the railroad track.
Denison’s Energy Evolution
The business of building the municipal electric system began in earnest in 1914. Power plant additions were ordered and began, and a new line was strung to parts of the community that previously had not been serviced with electricity. The power was generated in those early years from coal brought in by rail cars. The coal fired boilers would spin turbines to generate electricity.
In the late 1950s hydroelectric dams were under construction on the Missouri River. In July 1959 the federal government decided to build a high voltage transmission line from Sioux City to Creston. Former Denison Municipal Utilities General Manager, Daymon Abbott was instrumental in securing the construction of this line with the location of a substation near Denison. Since its construction of this Western Area Power Administration substation, many advantages have been recognized by having it located near Denison. In October 1960 the Board of Trustees of Denison Municipal Utilities decided to purchase power from these hydroelectric dams on the Missouri River.
It became apparent that the amount of electricity provided from the hydroelectric dams on the Missouri River would reach its maximum. On November 12, 1965 the Denison Municipal Utilities joined with other municipal utilities in Minnesota, North and South Dakota and Iowa to form the Missouri Basin Municipal Power Agency (later Missouri River Energy Services). Through its membership in this agency, Denison has become involved with the Laramie River Station, a coal-fired plant in Wheatland, Wyoming. The electricity that Denison needs today and in the future will be provided by Missouri River Energy Services in conjunction with the hydroelectric power made available through the Western Area Power Administration. These two low-cost wholesale power suppliers enable the Denison Municipal Utilities to have some of the lowest rates in the nation.
A Legacy of Water Innovation
The municipal water system in Denison was established on November 4, 1884. In the early years of the municipal water system, the system consisted of one or two municipal wells. This well water was pumped into a distributionpiping network to serve water throughout the community. From 1884 until the end of 1928, the water was simply pumped out of the ground and delivered to homes and businesses.
The first water treatment plant was built and placed in service in November 1928. The plant removed some of the iron and hardness from the raw water before being delivered to the community. In September 1963 the second water treatment plant was constructed near the West Boyer River which able to treat two million gallons of water per day for the community. Improvements were made in 1985 that allowed the water treatment plant to treat three million gallons of water each day. It soon became apparent that the plant would need significant improvements and/or an expansion to continue to meet the water needs of the Denison community.
In 1997 Howard R. Green Company, a consulting engineering firm, designed the renovated and expanded Denison Water Treatment Plant capable of treating seven million gallons per day. The treatment facility pumps the water to water towers throughout the community. Denison currently has three water towers; a 500,000 gallon tower built in 1948 located on N. 16 th street, in 1992 a one million gallon tower was built on N. 18 th street, and in 2024 a 500,000 gallon tower was built to replace a 200,000 gallon tower on North 24 th St. that was built in 1966. In total, Denison has 2 million gallons of elevated water storage and another 2 million gallons of underground storage at the Water Plant.
Raw water comes from 50-70 ft. deep wells located near and in the North Boyer River basin. These wells are constructed into what is referred to as a glacial sand or rock seam. This rock seam provides a good quantity of water that enabled the construction of the municipal wells.
Treating Wastewater, Protecting the River
Denison has had some form of sewer collection since 1914, but between the years of 1914 and 1969 the sewage leaving the homes and businesses emptied into the Boyer River. However, the environmental concerns in the country put strict limitations on the amount of wastewater that could be discharged into the waterways of the nation. Denison’s first wastewater treatment plant, referred to as the trickling filter plant, began operation in 1969. The collection and treatment of the wastewater from the community is located at the wastewater treatment facility in Denison on Arrowhead Drive.
Joint planning between Farmland (now Smithfield), IBP (now Tyson) and Denison Municipal Utilities took place in the mid 1970s and in the early 1980s and a new treatment plant was constructed next to the trickling filter plant.
This new plant is referred to as the Joint Treatment Facility. The Joint Treatment Facility opened in November 1982 and can treat approximately 3.2 million gallons per day of wastewater.
During the construction of the facility, some interesting archeological discoveries were made. The project was temporarily halted so archeologists from the University of Iowa could dig. They found many Indian artifacts, some of which are displayed in the Crawford County Courthouse. An important aspect of the Joint Treatment Facility was the construction of the ponds or lagoons. These lagoons can hold treated water during periods of severe drought of up to 180 days.
View PDFÂ Water Pumping Station Building Demolition
View PDF Denison Power Plant Water Pumping Station
Posted on 05/27/2025Â
