Grace Kirchner, Leader Correspondent
Costs of the unusually cold winter continue to mount for the city of Clintonville.
City Administrator Lisa Kuss told the Common Council this week that the cost to keep water running in area homes so far totals about $47,000, a freeze-up at the waste water treatment plant cost $15,000, city employees have racked up about 200 hours in overtime due to the weather, and the city spent several hundred dollars to send a letter to its water customers about its run-water order.
Kuss said residents should continue to keep their faucets running until at least the end of March to avoid frozen water pipes.
Kuss said 50 homes had frozen pipes so far this winter.
“With one exception, all the freeze-ups have been from 12th Street south,” she said. “The soil in Clintonville is sand or clay. It is easier with sandy soil for the frost to go deeper and faster. Most pipes in Clintonville are 6 feet deep. Frost has been found 7 feet and more.”
A 6-inch, mile-long pipe from the waste water treatment plant to the sludge tank froze in mid-February. For three days, 2,500 gallons of waste was hauled to a tank at the Randy and Carol Erickson farm southeast of the city. This spring, the sludge will be spread on fields where plants for human consumption are not planted.
Immel Construction, Kersten Excavating, Schoenike Septic and city workers were able to thaw the pipe after three days. City workers spent about 200 hours working on the problem, according to Kuss.
“Obviously, this was not the best month,” Kuss said. “The cooperation from the companies we work with was awesome. Nobody was without water for more than 24 hours, and obviously it was very cold at the time.”
Kuss noted there is no charge to users to run the water the size of a pencil stream. However, residents who experience a freeze-up and were not running the water will be charged.
Kuss noted that after receiving complaints from residents who were unaware of the run-water order, the city sent a letter to each customer. The mailing cost between $700 and $800, she said.