Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Environmental Services Division

For Immediate Release
April 4, 2007

OSCEOLA BYPASSES WASTEWATER; RESIDENTS ASKED TO HELP REPORT BYPASSES

MEDIA CONTACT: Bill Gross at (515) 725-0268.

OSCEOLA -- About 40,000 gallons of wastewater pooled in an Osceola
backyard following a wastewater bypass from a manhole in the 400 block
of Fillmore St. A citizen noticed the bypass Monday evening, but did not
report it to the city until Tuesday morning.

Some of the wastewater made it to a ditch one-half mile upstream of
Grade Lake. Because of the late reporting of the bypass to the city and
overnight rainfall, it is unknown if any wastewater reached the lake.
The city reports most of the wastewater pooled and soaked into the
ground.

"When residents notice a wastewater bypass, from a manhole, lift
station or otherwise, they need to call their city officials right away,
even if it's after normal business hours," said Bill Gross, an
environmental specialist with the DNR's Des Moines field office.
"Cities generally have wastewater staff on-call that can work to
stop the bypass."

The bypass likely began sometime Monday, due to a plugged sewer line.
The city stopped the bypass at 11:30 Tuesday morning and is cleaning up
the residential yard and disinfecting it with lime.

-30-





Neila Seaman, MPA
Director
Sierra Club, Iowa Chapter
3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280
Des Moines, IA  50310
[log in to unmask]
515-277-8868

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