Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By Bryan Hellios
Hurley — The Hurley City Council heard an update on the sewer deficiencies from city employee Gary Laguna at a Tuesday night meeting. Laguna said from October 2012 through June of 2018 the city of Hurley experienced 16 sanitation overflows resulting in approximately 10 million gallons of waste-water being pumped on the ground.
“These discharges end up in the Montreal River, which then discharges into Lake Superior,” he said.
Laguna said he realizes sometimes the “wheels of government turn slowly” but the city needs to show the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources they are at least taking “baby steps” to address the issue.
He suggested the council should begin by looking at its rate structure to determine if there is enough money being generated to address the problem. If the city was able to budget for regular cleaning and televising of its sewer lines, he said it would show the DNR that something is being done.
“At the end of the day, our job (in the department) is protecting public health,” he told the council.
He said the city received an estimate of $17,600 from a company to televise and clean 10,000 feet of pipe.
In other business:
The council indicated it needed more information from Iron County Outdoor Recreation Enthusiasts regarding plans to convert rail easements through the city into a non-motorized trails before it could take additional action in support of the effort.