Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By RALPH ANSAMI
Hurley — The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources figures the city of Hurley’s wastewater system should be able to handle 8 inches of rainfall in a 24-hour period, according to city officials.
Street superintendent Mark Bluse and department employee Gary Laguna on Wednesday discussed a meeting they had last week with the DNR on sewer overflows. They appeared before the Hurley City Council.
Laguna said the DNR indicated the city’s wastewater treatment process had been bypassed nine times since 2012.
The two said the DNR believes the city needs a better program to tackle the overflows. They didn’t disagree.
City council member Jamey Francis, who sits on the Gogebic-Iron Wastewater Board, said the Fathers Day storm of June 18 resulted in 18 million gallons of untreated stormwater entering the Montreal River, bypassing the treatment plant in Ironwood that handles Hurley’s sewage. Hurley was responsible for 1.6 million gallons of that total, he said.
Ironwood Township also uses the Ironwood treatment plant.
“A lot of communities are dealing with the same situation,” Francis said.
Nearby Ashland made big headlines for releasing untreated wastewater directly into Lake Superior. The Ashland Daily Press reported Ashland has dumped nearly 75 million gallons of diluted raw sewage into Lake Superior’s Chequamegon Bay over the past five years.
Discharges into the Montreal River also end up in Lake Superior, but the drop in elevation along the way, including waterfalls, tends to break up the untreated pollutants in the water.
Laguna and Bluse said there are several areas that could be addressed to alleviate clearwater infiltration; including improving city roof drains, sump pumps, cross connections and detecting water line leaks.
The city will send out letters to homeowners to upgrade their roof drains.
“We are making headway,” Bluse said, stating flooded basements in Hurley are only a fraction of Ironwood’s amount.
“We have a half mile of roof drains,” he said.
In other business Wednesday, the city council:
—Agreed to charge a $25 fee for a five-year private well operation permit. Council members were told there are only two private wells in the city to be charged under the permit, and Joanne Bruneau noted the owners will have to pay for inspections. Wells and pumps must comply with state codes. The DNR allows private wells in the city, as long as they are licensed properly.
Permits must be renewed June 30 of every fifth year.
—Agreed to purchase and install UPS battery back-ups for $3,247.
—Approved a pay request from Ross Peterson Construction, Hurley, for $143,648.
—Acknowledged Sept. 9-15 as National Suicide Prevention Week.
—Went into closed session on a bargaining matter, to be followed by possible discipline of a city employee.
