The proper conveyance and treatment of sewer is vital for the protection of public health. The addition of sewer service at a home or business also increases the property values. In some areas new line and new manholes are replaced to deal with aging infrastructure as funding is available. Public works personnel place the new lines in trenches dug to allow for proper
vertical and horizontal alignment. Prefabricated manholes are used in some cases, and in others, the crews construct the manholes with brick and mortar.

Dyes and smoke testing are used to locate leaks or breaks in the system. The City just purchased a new high pressure water machine to remove stoppages.  Several areas that were annexed are served by pressure lines where all the flow is moved by pumps. Gravity lines throughout the system are used where terrain permits and are a cost saving method of conveying the sewage.

What you Get for the Fee you Pay?

The sewer division of the public works department is responsible for the conveyance of domestic and industrial wastewater and the collection of over 30 miles of sewer mains and for maintaining 9 lift pumping station where gravity flow is not available.

These services and the treatment and disposal of wastewater as well as the recycling of biosolids on local agricultural land are paid for by the user fees collected each month from our customers. So you see that actually multiple departments and their associated duties are funded by the small fees that the customers pay each month. The sewer fees customers pay are based on their water consumption.

The Sewer Maintenance Division has a maintenance and cleaning program to keep the sanitary sewer system operating efficiently and to minimize the number of calls for service. Sewer cleaning using hydraulic or mechanical methods performed on a routine basis helps to remove accumulated debris in the pipe such as sand, silt, grease, roots and rocks.

If debris is allowed to accumulate, it reduces the pipe capacity and a blockage can eventually occur resulting in overflows from the system onto streets, yards, basements, and into surface waters.