A private firm could soon start a house-by-house search, checking for illegal cross connections into the sanitary sewer system in Albert Lea.

Friday, October 22, 1999

A private firm could soon start a house-by-house search, checking for illegal cross connections into the sanitary sewer system in Albert Lea.

If approved Monday, Wenck and Associates will search for sump pumps, foundation tile and roof downspouts that are illegally connected to the system. At $144,250, the Maple Plain, Minn. firm turned in the lowest bid for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency mandated search study.

&uot;It’s all being prompted by the need to pump sanitary lift stations this summer,&uot; said City Manager Paul Sparks; at least twice this summer the city pumped diluted sewage from flooded lift stations onto city streets and into the storm sewer system.

Pumping was necessary after heavy rains flooded the lift stations, with the city’s wastewater treatment plant processing 21 million gallons of rain-diluted sewage after one heavy rainfall this summer. The average is about five million gallons a day.

&uot;We suspect the major source of the infiltration is households,&uot; Sparks said. &uot;The study will concentrate on infiltration from residential areas, occurring because sump pumps that are connected to floor drains or the sanitary system, foundation tile that is connected to the sanitary system and roof downspouts that are connected to the sanitary system.

&uot;It is something that is being imposed on us by the state,&uot; he added. &uot;We have to do it. This is kind of a unique project we’re being required to carry out.&uot;

Because Wenck and Associates will check each home in the city, the council is also considering adding a $20 charge for each household to pay for the study.

Home owners with illegal connections will face monetary fines if the connections aren’t corrected within a set amount of time.

But the search won’t eliminate all flooding problems, he said. Many older homes don’t include foundation drain tiles; during heavy rains, water enters into these basements and reaches the sewer system through drains.

&uot;We will continue to look at other sources, including cracked or collapsed sanitary sewer lines, manholes that are taking on stormwater and manholes that are taking on stormwater and manhole covers that are not sealed,&uot; he said.

&uot;In addition, we will look at the industrial and commercial areas to continue to reduce the amount of stormwater entering sanitary sewers,&uot; he added.

Albert Lea is also not unique in this problem, Sparks said. The MPCA is also directing other cities to search for cross-connected systems, once not illegal.

And, prior to the early ’70s, storm sewers across the country were connected into sanitary storm sewers.

While the storm sewers drain into Albert Lea Lake here, many cities still have cross-connected systems, including St. Paul, he said.