Three Freeborn County communities received a grant to help them pay for a wastewater treatment study – the first step in the expensive process of bringing the towns up to date with environmental recommendations.

Friday, July 27, 2001

Three Freeborn County communities received a grant to help them pay for a wastewater treatment study – the first step in the expensive process of bringing the towns up to date with environmental recommendations.

Conger, Manchester and Myrtle jointly received a $10,000 conservation and natural resources challenge grant through the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR). The grant will pay for half of a feasibility study outlining the towns’ options.

Residents in those towns are the last in the county to use septic tanks for their wastewater. For example, in Myrtle, septic systems are connected to a common collection point where the wastewater travels into a ditch, where it can seep into groundwater or end up in rivers and lakes. The feasibility study will explore affordable ways to improve wastewater treatment such as recirculating sand filters, a lagoon system, a community drain field or a small mechanical plant. Freeborn County Environmental Health Coordinator Richard Hoffman is coordinating the effort.

In addition to the BWSR funds, each community will contribute $1,500 toward the study. Freeborn County has agreed to pay $6,000.

&uot;We’ve known that we needed to address wastewater treatment in these towns since 1989 when we established our water plan,&uot; Hoffman said.

The towns have not yet appointed an engineer to do the assessment, but Myrtle Mayor Bernard Meinke said he hopes whoever does the study will understand the financial burden any changes will have on the towns’ small tax base.

&uot;If somebody comes over here, I want them to try to work with me if they can. There’s no use in turning the whole town upside down if they don’t have to,&uot; Meinke said.

Even if minimal changes are made, updating the water system is going to be expensive, he said.

&uot;They’re going to be surprised when they get the bill,&uot; he said. &uot;Right now it’s pretty cheap. I know it’s going to be hard, because we’ll probably have a debt to pay.&uot;