Flooding photos
Severe storms and flooding have caused problems locally and statewide. If you have been affected, we want your photos. Send us your photo.
To view a gallery of photos of the flooding taken by Gazette photographers, click here.
The baseball diamond at Monterey Park in Janesville on Monday looks like the shoreline of a sandy island. Officials stress to local residents to stay out of the flood water as it may be contaminated.
Daryl Thompson of Janesville stands Monday on a concrete outcropping and fishes into a patch of grass near the end of South River Street in Janesville that has become a small pond. Officials still expect the Rock River to crest at 14 feet Thursday.
NEWVILLE — Hey! Quit running your sump pumps into the sanitary sewer system.
It’s not good for anybody.
And Jerry Miles doesn’t like it and politely requests that you stop.
Miles, superintendent for the Consolidated Koshkonong Sanitary District, reported Monday the district was “bypassing” the treatment plant and dumping raw sewage into the Rock River. It’s something Jefferson and Fort Atkinson already have started to do.
As of this morning, the Janesville sewage treatment plant was not being bypassed.
Before you panic, keep in mind most of that “raw sewage” is heavily diluted river water from the basements of the district’s homes and businesses. The district has 1,856 customers and about 39 miles of sewer lines.
Here’s what happens:
Sump pumps—and sometimes even down spouts—are hooked up illegally to the sanitary sewer system. When a basement fills with water, the sump pump sends the water into the system for treatment. Water from such pumps should be directed on to the lawn or back into the river.
Illegal sump pumps always are a problem for the district.
And when the Newville area experiences a flood of this magnitude, all of that water—plus the water from regular usage—overwhelms the system.
How much of a problem is it?
“It’s a huge problem,” Miles said. “It hinders our whole operations; it’s hard on the pumps.”
The district has 20 lift stations, and each has at least two pumps. If a station goes out, the time down means significant expenditures in time and money. And that’s doesn’t include the inconvenience to customers.
The district could choose not to bypass the system, but that would mean backups in homes on Ellendale Road, where the district’s offices and treatment facilities are located.
This summer, the district is planning a “smoke test” to find illegal hookups and will ask people politely to change their ways.
The smoke testing was planned before flooding became an issue, Miles said.
If illegal hookups are found, people are given seven days to make adjustments. Then they can be fined $200 a day.
Illegal hookups usually aren’t the result of criminal masterminds at work; often homeowners aren’t even aware of the rule.
Treating river or rainwater, which is sometimes referred to as “clear water,” isn’t the best use of the district’s resources, either. It’s like rewashing clothes to see if you can get them any whiter.
“For us to treat clear water doesn’t make sense,” Miles said.