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UPDATE ON THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT The Roland Mayor and City Council would like to give the residents an update on the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP). The DNR is changing some of the requirements regarding the way WTPs operate, and as a result of these changes, Roland will need to make major renovations to our current wastewater treatment practices. The city must evaluate several options, which include but are not limited to, rebuilding our current facility, building a new one, or finding mechanical alternatives to become compliant with the new regulations. An important component of evaluating the type and size of facility needed for Roland is based on our sewer flow. Records indicate that flow increases dramatically during significant amounts of rain. This demonstrates that there is an infiltration (extra water) problem with our current sanitary sewer system. The council is addressing the infiltration issue by using the information obtained from the smoke testing that was completed on September 14, 15 and 17, by MER Engineering. What is smoke testing? Smoke testing is a quick and effective way of determining if, and where, there are any prohibited, broken, or cross connections to the sanitary sewer system. The test is performed by blocking off portions of the sanitary sewer main through the manhole and then dropping a lighted smoke bomb in the manhole. The smoke then travels through the sewer main undetected unless there is an issue. If there is a broken, cross, or prohibited connection, smoke will come to the surface drawing attention to the problem area. Example: If a house has its roof drains connected directly to the sanitary sewer, the smoke will surface through the downspouts. The problem that excessive infiltration creates with our current system is that the lagoons fill up too rapidly and if left alone would overflow creating a hazardous spill. In an effort to keep the lagoons from overflowing, the untreated water is then bi-passed (pumped) into the creek, which violates the provisions of the city’s current operating permit. By locating and fixing the prohibited, broken, or cross connections, it will cut down on the amount of infiltration that flows to the wastewater plant when it rains. As a result of reducing the amount of unnecessary infiltration to the existing sewer system, a more realistic processing requirement may be established. This reduces the currently proposed size of the lagoons needed to comply with the DNR’s new operating permit, which will return a savings on the cost of the project to the residents of Roland. The smoke test confirmed that there are several properties, both public and private, with infiltration issues. What’s next? The city will be contacting the private home owners that have issues and further discuss solutions to correct the problem. On public property, the city is already taking steps to correct leaks around manholes and intakes. The city will also be televising and reverse smoking four areas of town that showed a problem, as it was undetermined where and what the problem was from the testing. There is another area of infiltration that was not addressed during the recent smoke test. There is a very strong chance that many sump pumps are incorrectly connected to the sanitary sewer system. The city is planning on having an inspection plan in place beginning this spring, in which the city will inspect all the homes in town and determine if the sump pumps are plumbed correctly. Sump pumps are to be connected to a storm sewer collection line or plumbed to discharge onto the resident’s property. There are some sump pumps that are discharging directly into the street that will be checked for compliance. If the sump pump is plumbed correctly, or there is no sump pump, the home owner will receive a certification in the mail showing the date of inspection and that it is in compliance with the city code. For those that are in violation, the home owner will have an allotted amount of time to fix the connection without penalty. The mayor and council has tried to address some of the questions you may have regarding the smoke testing. If you still have questions, contact City Hall at 388-4861, Monday through Friday, 8:00 am – noon and 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm, excluding holidays. |
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