Sump issues, Council looks at curbing sump pump misuse
September 21, 2011 at 1:49 am in The Jamestown Sun
The Jamestown Public Works committee discussed ways to deal with the problem of sump pumps draining into the sanitary sewer system during city committee meetings Tuesday.
Continue Reading
I have a better idea. How about the city properly updates the sewer system?
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
42 
5
What’s the big deal about pumping sump pumps into the river? Doesn’t it just go into the river anyway?
Like or Dislike:
17 
7
Leave it to politicians, blame the water, not the sewer system. And Nygaard wants me to go around policing my neighbors? I think not.
Like or Dislike:
21 
7
Not only that but they are blaming the residents for the problem. There’s plenty of blame to go around but the residents don’t deserve any of it.
Since I’m a solutions oriented type of guy, here’s my advice: Update the sewer system and the problem will be solved. It’s as simple as that.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
23 
5
The dog park is a complete waste of taxpayer money. There are already plenty of parks and sidewalks where people can walk their dogs. There are also areas that people refer to as backyards that have been proven to work well. If someone doesn’t have adequate space for a dog, they shouldn’t get one.
Hot debate. What do you think?
23 
14
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
7 
19
cedric, Did you read the article?
————————————-
“The street department also plans to haul any snow it does remove to a field near the city garbage baler. This is farther from the area of the proposed dog park, where city crews had hauled snow in previous years.
“The longer haul means more time and time is money,” Andersen said. “And it slows the snow-removal process for the entire city.”
The Jamestown Parks and Recreation Department had voted to deny any future snow dumping on the dog park site during its last meeting.”
————————————————
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
17 
1
Buffalo Bill – Yes, I read the article. Maybe the previous owner who let the city dump their snow there other years would not have allowed it again either. There is more to the story.
Like or Dislike:
3 
11
So now they figured out that the Jamestown World Wide Mega International Hospital is going to be a nightmare when it comes to snow removal.
Shouldn’t that have been thought of in the first place?
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
35 
7
Wow you are right, they said it is going to be a nightmare. Didn’t really sound like that to me, just a little more difficult.
Also, it’s not like the city had a lot of say in whether or not the hospital was going to be built. It was built with private funds and donations. I do remember snow removal being discussed by the city before the hospital was built, but for the most part it fell on deaf ears. The only thing the city could control was use of city utilities.
Like or Dislike:
17 
11
Quote from the story: “We’ll have to have someone plowing 24 hours per day because that area does blow in.”
———————-
Plowing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If that isn’t a nightmare, I don’t know what is.
Yes, the city could have stopped it. They controlled the zoning, the building permit process, as well as extending infrastructure.
Another thing, this 25 bed hospital wasn’t exactly paid for with “private funds and donations”. The bulk of the money came from a LOAN from the US GOVERNMENT.
Nothing ever happens in Jamestown without someone’s hand in the tax pocket.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
25 
8
The frontage road from 17th Ave NW to the bypass is not in the city limits. The bypass is not in the city limits. Why are the city residents paying for snow removal on these roads? It is time for the city to review their policy with the county for snow removal exchanges on certain roads.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
18 
1
Cedrics’ comment above should be 17th Ave SW. Sorry for the typing error.
Like or Dislike:
9 
2
Pat Nygaard, city councilman, suggested that neighbors could alert city officials to violators.
————–
Seriously? That’s how they want to deal with the situation. There’s nothing like tattling on your neighbor to help build a sense of community.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
29 
3
I disagree with any sort of spying-on-your-neighbors kind of activity in town.
“Another option, suggested by Dalsted but not discussed by the board, was to institute a city-wide assessment that homeowners could opt out of by allowing inspections of their basement and sewer connections.”
Don’t you think they would take the names of those who opt-out of the “inspection” to compile a “hit-list”? We need to update the infrastructure, not use our current system as a means to create a KGB or SS in town.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
26 
3
I highly doubt it would even be legal to place an assessment on anyone who refused to let the city do an inspection. Sounds like something out of 1930′s Germany.
Maybe Dalsted should take a crash course on civil liberties.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
27 
4
You have a point, Fred. I say let them try. I just got upstairs from my basement with some evidence for the City. You can get all the parts from Mac’s, FYI.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
19 
3
That’s a nice set up you’ve got there, David. How did you fit the Y-adapter to the black hose exactly? The method I use is a little conspicuous right now.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
20 
3
guilty until proven innocent, and spy on your neighbor. what country are we in again?
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
26 
3
The city’s attitude comes directly from the city engineer’s office.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
24 
5
You bet your Petunia you are correct.
Like or Dislike:
15 
3
Fargo went through this same thing. We had a city inspector come into our house to inspect and document that our discharge hose was routed through our wall and onto our front yard, and not into our floor drain. Mine is routed outside, so no biggie for me. If you’re the least bit handy, you can buy PVC pipe, and with about a 2-3 inch hole, route the discharge outside. PVC is easy to work with. I don’t see what the big issue is here.
Like or Dislike:
7 
10
Riley you are missing the point.
Like or Dislike:
8 
4
What point exactly?
Everybody seems to think the city should just update their sewer system to handle the sump water. They evidently don’t realize that costs money.
I have to purchase a permit each year to discharge my sump into my sewer, and that’s valid only during the winter. I have gotten inspected in both Fargo and Moorhead.
Would I prefer to discharge into the sewer year round with no permit? Absolutely. Do I want to pay for that kind of major infrastructure upgrade? Probably not.
Like or Dislike:
3 
10
it’s not updating the sewer system to handle sump water that we are advocating. The real problem is that river water infilatates the sewer system when the river is high, as it has been all summer. Updating the sewer system to not allow river water to get in the system is what the city needs to do.
Note that if river water gets into the sewer system when the river is high, then likely sewer water is getting into the river when the river is lower.
Like or Dislike:
12 
2
or infiltrates.
Like or Dislike:
12 
2
Still, you are looking at a lot of money.
If running sumps outside can save taxpayers millions of dollars, why are people so upset about it? Do they have any idea how much it costs to tear up and replace old leaky pipes that run under their streets?
I think if the city would put out the numbers of what exactly that would cost people’s opinions would start to change.
Like or Dislike:
2 
5
It’s only going to cost more the longer they wait. Doing it sooner than later will save a ton of money and a lot of headaches.
Like or Dislike:
4 
1
Pete, that is possible. But if the real problem is river water infiltrating and filling up the sewer pipes, what does it help to remove any septic water from the system? if a sewer pipe is say 75% full with sump water, or maybe 50% full without, they end up 100% full from river water anyway. there’s nothing to be gained by going after homeowners as Nygaard want to do, if the problem is river water anyway. Except maybe the city can make some money.
Like or Dislike:
4 
2
errr…. I meant sump water, not septic water.
Like or Dislike:
4 
2
Those citizens in Jamestown who would rather sacrifice the sewer system capacity for the sake of it being filled up with river water anyway can feel free to do so without my dissent. I for one have a more effective way of pumping the water out of my basement. To each his own.
Like or Dislike:
3 
1