At the August 5 meeting, the bulk of the information heard by the Fountain Council related to work done or suggested by Public Works and contracted Water/Wastewater consultant Rick Whitney.
Maintenance worker Jordan Amunrud suggested the city look at having the city’s sewer lines inspected via scope and jetted for preventative maintenance purposes.
“I’d like to try and get some kind of plan together to get the lines scoped and jetted to see if we have any issues or broken stuff that need to be fixed before we have a major blowout… all the sewer mains throughout the whole town,” clarified Amunrud.
Councilor Tammy Danielson questioned whether or not this had been done previously and several noted it had not. Amunrud stated while he could be wrong, they’re probably all clay pipe. It’s recommended that clay pipe is done every two to three years, while PCV pipe is recommended every five years.
“The League of Minnesota Cities recommends you do one third of your system, like a year or something, but once you have your entire system cameraed, you can just do jetting if you want,” said Whitney.
He further explained the cost is typically $1 per linear for for either option. Utilizing a camera will let the city know if there’s any damage to the lines and allows the video footage to be used for accurate locating when repairs are made. Whitney will secure three estimates for the council to review at a future meeting.
Another sewer-related suggestion was related to elevated fecal levels at the plant. According to Whitney, the levels climbed up for the month of July, which prompted his concern. In pictures provided to the council, he detailed work done and what should happen in the future.
The problems were two fold. First, it was discovered after three hours of emptying a septic tank, that previously only the liquid waste was pulled out, while solids were left. Tanks were drained with an inserted hose, rather than having lids removed, the material agitated, and pulling it all out. The city typically does 60 tanks a year and Whitney would like to mark the 60, expose the lids, and agitate the tanks ahead of the pumper coming to keep down costs.
“He’s getting them cleaned out and we’re getting rid of the material. I really think that the investment in time, initially for your system for the next three years, would be a huge payoff,” Whitney stated.
Secondly, when the increasing fecal levels were seen, a tank sample tube was checked and black material was found. After further inspection, a thick sludge layer was found in the last tank. What’s more, it appears the aeration piping in the tank was never in operation since the sand filter was put back online. The material was cleaned out and the aeration piping put online. This puts the sand filter, the last tank, and two aeration basins in good shape.
In other news, the council briefly reviewed the preliminary budget for the Preston Police Department in relation to the city budget and contract. According to City Clerk Mary Tjepkes, it’ll probably be another 5% increase. More information will be available in the future as the city prepares to set it’s preliminary 2027 budget and levy.
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