If sewer plant is so big, why inspect?

Published 8:55 am Thursday, October 23, 2008

The article in the Oct. 15 issue of the Albert Lea Tribune regarding sewer line inspections needs some clarification. Our home came under that group where the home was built before 1975 and it had tile around the footings. That item has been taken care of.

The city engineer stated that the number of home that did not meet city code was few in number but that small amount could contribute a significant amount to the sewer system. Does he refer to the area where these homes are the system they have or does he refer to the Albert Lea waste treatment plant? When the Wilson plant burned, the city lost one of the largest users of water in the area. Since that incident the city has been attempting to bring in more wet industry. It has been said that our waste treatment plant is handling about half the amount of water that it was built to treat.

Going further on into the news article a statement was made as follows, “It’s a plan that will prevent Albert Lea’s wastewater treatment plant from reaching full capacity and backing up into people’s homes during a heavy rain.”

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Is the city telling me that those few homes that did not meet city code would create more water from a rain than a hog-killing plant so large that it needed 1,000 workers. Frankly, I believe we are being treated to some very large exaggerations.

Russell Anderson

Albert Lea