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September 23, 1999
Sewage backs up into housesProblem caused by malfunction incontrols atwastewatertreatment lift stationBy GUY PRIEL Journal Staff Writer NEW ULM -- A pump failure at the 20th South Street wastewater lift station has once again caused trauma for several residents of low-lying areas within the city limits. Many of the same residents also suffered losses during the spring flood of 1997 when the Minnesota River overflowed its banks. A malfunction in equipment controls at the Public Utility Commission's Wastewater Treatment lift station caused a failure in the system Monday night. Sewage backed up in the basement on a home on South Valley Street, according to information released from the PUC office Wednesday. The PUC office received a call early Tuesday morning advising them of the problem and crews responded immediately. Within a half hour the equipment malfunctions were corrected and the sewage was receding. Seven homes on South Valley and South Front streets were in the area immediately affected by the problem, and five of the homes suffered substantial damage to the basements, the report stated. City officials and the city's insurance adjuster, who is hired through the League of Minnesota Cities, met with the homeowners to determine the extent of liability. The failure also caused damage to various equipment at the lift station, although the extent of damage has not yet been determined. The American Red Cross has provided temporary housing assistance for families most severely impacted by malfunctioning equipment. "The homes affected also suffered problems during the (1997) flood," PUC Superintendent Robert Stevenson said. "One of the homes that suffered the worst this time was sandbagged during the flood, but the sandbags failed, causing damage." The affected houses are in the two lowest areas of town. They are prone to damage whenever the river floods or when sewer backups occur, Stevenson said. "It's a mess, is about all I can say," said home owner Verona Johnson, one of those affected by the failure. "Everything I had in the basement is ruined." Most of the items in Johnson's basement consisted of things that had been stored, such as chairs, shelves, canning jars, some appliances and boxes. However, items in a storage room had some value. Johnson lives in a two-story house with a basement that was flooded by the backed up sewage. However, she fared better than others who live in split-level homes where entire living areas were damaged by sewage backup. "It is difficult," said a resident who asked not to be identified. "We don't know what's happening," she said. "We need some questions answered. We don't have any answers. We are not sure what we are dealing with here, and the city is working with us as much as possible." The family spent all day moving stuff out of their basement into their garage, throwing out carpeting and any other items that had been contaminated by the waste, while trying to hold onto others, as they attempt to put their lives back in order one more time. "I mean, we are talking about contaminated waste, and there is no way to describe what we are dealing with, and it is hard to know how to get things moved around," she said. "There is some property value stuff that has to be dealt with. We don't need to be victimized again." From floods to sewer backups to trains that pass nearby, there are a lot of unresolved issues with which families must deal. "Dealing with something like is not like dealing with a flood, or a tornado, or a hurricane, because you can prepare for something like that," one resident who asked to remain nameless said. "You can't be prepared when you wake up to this." Three other affected home owners could not be reached for comment. The Red Cross offered hotels for the affected families, whose homes were damaged so badly they couldn't stay, and provided clean up kits to help them begin the process, Brown County-West Nicollet Red Cross spokesman John Paulsen said. "We didn't provide much assistance," he said. "They have their own food and their own clothes, they just needed a place to stay. We don't know how many actually took advantage, but it was offered." City officials are trying to work out a deal with the Holiday Inn to provide shelter, because it was a city mistake caused by a failure in the pump, the backup pump and the warning system, Paulsen said. "It will take a long time for some of those people, because the raw sewage is in the walls and in some cases was up to 4 feet high," he said. "This is a minor disaster, but it is still classified as a disaster." The insurance adjuster visited all of the affected homes, but didn't tell any of the residents anything and many people don't have special insurance for situations like this, Paulsen said.
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