The Highland School District is temporarily stopping progress on pursuing a waste water treatment solution for the district. At their May 10th meeting, they received bids on the project that came in higher than expected. The three bids included Keokuk Contractors at $1,260,678, Boomerang Corp at $1,219,218 and Woodruff Construction at $1,206,000. The original estimated project cost was $1.2 million. The project is tabled while the district, HR Green engineer Matt Wildman and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) work together to bring down the overall cost.

The district has until July of 2022 according to the DNR to complete the project. The need stems from a 2019 notice from the DNR that the district exceeded wastewater ammonia and E. coli levels in 2018.