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Officials: Walnut Street force main limits drive Front Street backups; fixes could exceed $1 million
Summary
City staff said the wastewater force main leaving Walnut Street can move a maximum of 2,300 gallons per minute, a constraint officials say contributes to Front Street backups during heavy rain. Options under study include storage, upsizing the force main and plant expansion; estimated costs and DNR requirements complicate timing and funding.
Kevin, a city staff member, told meeting participants the wastewater force main that runs from Walnut Street to the treatment plant “can only carry 2,300 gallons a minute,” and that limit contributes to backups on Front Street during heavy rains. He said the city is working with Cochran Engineering on options that include short-term storage (a retention tank) and upsizing the force main.
The discussion matters because heavy storms in recent years sent large flows through the system; Kevin pointed to nearby flooding events that damaged buildings and said the town’s system can be overwhelmed when rainfall totals reach the levels the region has been seeing. “On these heavy big rains where we get 7, 8 inches, which we seem to get every year now, we’re unable to move the sewage from Walnut Street to the treatment plant,” he said.
City staff described two broad technical approaches: build storage to hold sewage at a lift station until flows subside, or increase the capacity of the force main. Kevin said storage does not solve…
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