PeopleService and its regional operations in Maryville, Missouri, and Nodaway County Public Water Supply District (PWSD) No. 1 center around contracted municipal water treatment, rural distribution management, and major infrastructure upgrades. [1, 2]
Maryville Water & Wastewater Operations (PeopleService)
- Partnership Start: PeopleService Inc. entered into a management and operations contract with the City of Maryville in 2006 to oversee local water and wastewater facilities. [1]
- Water Treatment Plant & Capacity: Maryville processes water utilizing a surface water treatment plant drawing from Lake Mozingo (featuring a 5.0 MGD membrane facility equipped with sodium permanganate, chlorine dioxide, and a Kruger flocculator, alongside legacy plant components dating back to 1959). [1, 2]
- Wastewater Systems: The city operates a local wastewater treatment and lagoon system serving Maryville proper. [1, 2]
- Key Milestones & Upgrades: Over the years, PeopleService teams addressed Stage 2 TTHM (Total Trihalomethanes) compliance through chemical adjustments, updated EPA-standard industrial pretreatment programs, and tackled algae bloom taste and odor issues (cyanobacteria from Mozingo Lake). In June 2026, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) awarded Maryville a $52.5 million financial assistance package ($2.5 million grant, $50 million loan) for a full-scale replacement and upgrade of its drinking water treatment plant. [1, 2, 3]
Nodaway County Public Water Supply District No. 1 (PWSD #1)
- System Scope: PWSD No. 1 is the largest rural water district in the State of Missouri by miles of pipe, spanning roughly 1,200 miles of water main and serving about 2,400 connections, including the municipalities of Clearmont and Skidmore. [1]
- Source Water Relationship: The district is a wholesale customer supplied via purchase agreements with the City of Maryville Water Treatment Plant (itself a PeopleService client). [1]
- PeopleService Involvement: PeopleService was hired to take over district operations in May 2013 to resolve budget overruns, personnel challenges, and high water loss. [1]
- Operational Turnaround: Under PeopleService management, the district reduced water loss from roughly 35% down to 15%, stabilized staff and budget/inventory management, and facilitated network expansion phases. [1]
- Recent Developments (2026): Nodaway County PWSD #1 released a draft feasibility study regarding water options and disposal for prospective large-scale developments like the White Cloud Acres data center project, and local rate adjustments have drawn scrutiny as the district mirrors upcoming municipal water plant cost increases.
PeopeService History
PeopleService wasfounded in 1988 in Omaha, Nebraska, by Alan F. “Al” Meyer. [1, 2]
Company Origins & Evolution
- Founding: Al Meyer established the company after working in regional industries, drawing from his background with firms like Northern Natural Gas, Vic’s Popcorn, and People’s Natural Gas. [1]
- Core Services: The company specializes in employee-owned, outsourced contract operations, maintenance, and management for municipal and industrial water and wastewater systems. [1, 2, 3, 4]
- Regional Growth: Over nearly 40 years of operation, PeopleService expanded its footprint across the Midwest, providing services with regional offices and operations in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, and Nebraska. [1, 2]
- Leadership Transition: Founder Al Meyer served as Chairman and CEO until his passing in March 2020. Chad Meyer later assumed the role of President, with executive and operational leadership guided by a team including Jonathan McDonald and Chris McMillen. [1, 2, 3]
- Industry Initiatives: In 2020, the company appointed industry veteran Dennis White as an ambassador and launched the PeopleService Alan Meyer Memorial Scholarship Program to support students entering the water and environmental technology fields. [1]
Water Treatment Terms
A flocculator is a mechanical or hydraulic device used in water and wastewater treatment to gently stir or agitate water so that tiny, destabilized suspended particles (created during coagulation) collide, stick together, and grow into larger, heavy clumps called flocs. [1, 2, 3]
How It Works
- Gentle Agitation: Unlike the rapid, high-intensity mixing used to inject coagulant chemicals, a flocculator provides slow, controlled stirring. [1, 2, 3]
- Particle Collision: This slow motion lets fine particles and micro-flocs brush against each other without breaking them apart. [1, 2, 3]
- Easy Removal: Once the particles grow into large, dense flocs, they become heavy enough to sink to the bottom in a sedimentation tank or get trapped easily in a filter. [1, 2, 3]
Common Types of Flocculators
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Mechanical Flocculators: Use motorized rotating paddles, reels, or turbines (with vertical or horizontors: Also called baffle-channel or Alabama Flocculators, these use a series of physical walls or partitions in a tank to guide water along a tal shafts) to gently churn the water.
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Hydraulic (Baffled) Flocculator- a winding path, creating natural turbulence and velocity gradients without moving mechanical parts.
Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs) are a group of chemical compounds that form as a byproduct when chlorine or other disinfectants (like ozone or chloramines) react with naturally occurring organic and inorganic matter in drinking water. [1, 2, 3]
The Four Main Components
TTHMs consist of four specific chemical compounds: [1]
- Chloroform (trichloromethane)
- Bromodichloromethane
- Dibromochloromethane
- Bromoform [1]
Why They Form
- Disinfection: Water facilities add chlorine to kill harmful bacteria, viruses, and parasites, which is vital for preventing waterborne diseases like typhoid and cholera. [1, 2]
- Organic Matter: As chlorine treats the water, it interacts with decaying leaves, algae, soil, and plant material in lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. [1]
- Water Age: TTHM levels tend to rise the longer water sits or travels through a distribution system (water age) or during warmer summer months. [1, 2]
How People Are Exposed
Health Risks and Regulations
- Regulatory Limit: According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state guidelines, the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for TTHMs is 80 parts per billion (ppb) or 80 µg/L, calculated as a Locational Running Annual Average (LRAA). [1, 2, 3]
- Health Effects: Long-term, chronic exposure to TTHMs above regulatory limits has been linked to an increased risk of bladder cancer and potential damage to the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system, as well as adverse reproductive or developmental effects. [1, 2, 3]
How to Reduce TTHMs at Home
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Filtration: Use certified home water filters (such as granular or powdered activated-carbon systems) specifically tested and certified to reduce TTHMs.
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Air Out Water: Letting tap water sit in an open pitcher in the refrigerator allows some volatile TTHMs to evaporate.
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Ventilation: Using exhaust fans during showers or shortening shower times can lower inhalation exposure.
Water Treatment Plants Scaled by “Million Gallons per Day” (Most Common)
In engineering, MGD stands for Million Gallons per Day, which is a standard unit used to measure water flow and treatment plant capacity. When people say a “10 MGD membrane plant” or an “MGD membrane system,” they are describing a large-scale municipal or industrial water purification facility that utilizes membrane filtration technology (such as ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, or reverse osmosis) to process millions of gallons of water daily. [1, 2, 3]
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How it works: Raw water is pushed through high-tech polymer or ceramic sheets containing microscopic pores. These pores act as physical barriers that strip out suspended solids, organic material, bacteria, and viruses to produce clean drinking or industrial water. [1, 2]
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Examples: Cities frequently construct 10 MGD, 25 MGD, or even 100 MGD membrane facilities to supply high-quality water to their populations.
[1, 2, 3]
Membrane Degasification Systems (MDG / MGD)
Often abbreviated as MDG (or flipped to MGD in conversation), this refers to Membrane Degasification Systems. [1]
How it works: These systems use specialized hydrophobic hollow fiber membranes to remove dissolved gases (like carbon dioxide or oxygen) from water without chemical injection. [1]
Application: Liquid flows on one side of the membrane while a vacuum or sweep gas is applied to the other side. The gases cross the membrane barrier while the water is left behind. This is highly critical in industrial electronics manufacturing and power plant operations to prevent pipe corrosion.