Recently, every home owner received a letter from the City of Wanamingo. This is in compliance with the sanitary sewer system's rules about discharging clear water into the system from your property. Specifically, the Code of Ordinances (section 53) prohibits the discharge of clear water from your roof, surface, ground water, sump pump, footing drain, swimming pool, beaver system or other natural sources on your property into the system.
According to Michael Boulton, City Administrator, the city has hired WHKS Engineering to complete the sump pump inspection this fall. "The idea behind the program is to cut down on the clear/storm water from entering into the sanitary sewer system", said Michael. "During rain events, the flows increase by over 8 times the regular flows."
All property owners must schedule a mandatory inspection through WHKS & Co, the project engineering consultant. Please do not call the city offices to schedule this appointment. All appointments and any questions in regard to the rules and regulations MUST be through WHKS. You can reach them at (833) 509-0270, or go online at wanamingosump.com to schedule your mandatory appointment, and ask questions. The hours to call are Monday - Thursday from 8 am to 5 pm, and 8 am to 12 pm on Friday. Your login and password to schedule an appointment are listed on the top of the letter you received recently.
Along with the sump pump inspection program, the City will be conducting smoke testing later this fall for cross connections with the storm water/sanitary sewer lines. The City needs to get all the information under control in the next couple of years before the regional waste water treatment plant is up and running. If it is not reduced, sewer bill rates will be significantly higher to cover the costs of treating the water. This could be hundreds of thousands of dollars, so these inspections are very important.
Numerous other cities have successfully completed sump pump inspections, including Kasson, Owatonna, Austin and Rochester. All homes are either required to comply with the inspection, or be subject to a $100.00 a month fee on their monthly utility bill.
The City will host a public informational meeting on Thursday, August 29th at 6:00pm at the Community Center to discuss the need for this program, the scheduling of inspections, proper connections, and other miscellaneous items. If you have questions, WHKS will get them answered.
