Smithfield Upgrades Sioux Falls Wastewater Treatment System to Reduce Nitrogen Load

July 27, 2023

Pork processor invested $45 million to replace existing system and meet more stringent permit limits on nitrates and ammonia.

Andy Hanacek

Smithfield Foods announced it has built a new wastewater treatment system at its pork-processing complex in Sioux Falls, S.D., replacing an existing system with state-of-the-art processes to meet stricter limits on nitrates and ammonia levels.

The $45 million operation biologically converts ammonia-nitrogen in wastewater to nitrate-nitrogen and further removes nitrate-nitrogen from wastewater, a treatment process known as denitrification, a company release stated. Denitrification will reduce the nitrogen load to the Big Sioux River by two-thirds or more.

This is the latest in improvement efforts at the Sioux Falls facility, as the company has spent $10 million over the past several years to upgrade its wastewater system.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.