INFORUM.com | WDAZ.com

WDAY: Your News Leader

print article Print     e-mail article E-mail
Published April 10, 2011, 08:54 AM

Casselton residents told to limit water use to relieve overworked sewer system

Casselton, ND (WDAY TV) - Communities threatened by all the water are warning homeowners to make sure sump pumps are properly put out into the street. One small town is learning the hard way. People in Casselton are being told to limit their water use after too many became complacent.

By: Travis Skonseng, WDAY

  • Lift Station
    • image
    All the water is causing the most trouble at the main lift station. We caught up with workers checking on the water level.

People in Casselton are on hour six of having to conserve water. The sanitary sewer system is overworked. Now, many homeowners here are trying to help by quickly moving their sump pumps to the street where they should be.

By the sound of it, you'd think the town of Casselton is under water. But in reality, it's the sheer number of sump pumps working overtime.

“I'm getting really tired of it.”

Becky Siverson hopes her home is well protected. She has one large pump outside, running every ten minutes. The two inside run every four.

BECKY SIVERSON – Homeowner: “It did get pretty close to this two years ago, where it was about four to five minutes where they were continuously running. So we're anticipating that this could be as bad if not worse.”

Siverson and the rest of the 24 hundred people in town found out about the threat around 4 this afternoon. The town sent this code red to everyone.

“It's an unnecessary burden on everybody.”

Too much water is coming into the sanitary sewer system. It hasn't been this bad since the flood of 1997. All the water is causing the most trouble at the main lift station. We caught up with workers checking on the water level.

KEVIN MAYER - Casselton Public Works Department: “Our stations are working at capacity right now. They just can't keep up with what's coming in.”

This worries homeowners like Siverson. She has already plugged floor drains, shut off water to her basement bathroom and bought a generator. Siverson is preparing for this problem to last several weeks.

BECKY SIVERSON – Homeowner: “It seems like every spring we are dealing with this. We are just hoping we'll make it through.”

Leaders aren't sure how long this precaution will last, saying only until water goes down. There has been no backup into homes. Meantime, the storm sewer system is working fine.

The Cities of Harwood, Horace, Page and Climax are also asking residents to conserve on water and to make sure all sump pumps are pumping outside and not into the sewer system.

Tags: , , , , ,