DNR WPDES PERMIT COMPLIANCE
As mentioned in previous newsletters, the GLSD is required to meet new, stringent wastewater discharge requirements set forth by the State of WI. The District is working closely with the WIDNR on several different methods to use our treated wastewater as irrigation waters on nearby fields. The District is committed to this option as it is both the most environmentally friendly, but also the most cost effective. Costs associated with the planning, site evaluations, design, construction, etc. of the final compliance option we’re working toward, has required an increase to our wastewater treatment rates. As we work through the DNR permit process, the GLSD has been working with financial specialists from Ehlers, Inc., to determine revenues needed to reach compliance and the corresponding rate adjustments that have been made thus far.
GLSD FUTURE SEWERING UPDATE
In response to petitions by landowners from several of the remaining unsewered areas of the District, the GLSD Board of Commissioners authorized the District Engineer, Cedar Corp., to complete a feasibility study to evaluate the difficulty and potential costs of providing service to these (developed) unsewered areas of the District. This study will provide the GLSD Board the necessary information to evaluate potential project costs, benefits to the lake and groundwater, ages of existing septic systems /holding tanks/cesspools, connectivity to current sewer infrastructure, development history & potential, among other factors. The goal is to provide landowners with information about future sewering timelines so they may plan accordingly for new home construction, expansion of their existing home, necessary septic repairs, etc. Over the next few months, the GLSD will be reaching out to landowners in the areas under consideration for sewering to make them aware of preliminary information meetings (PIMs) in which potential project information will be provided.