HomeMy WebLinkAboutSection VIII.C Sanitary Sewer Emergency Response PolicyVIII.C. SANITARY SEWER EMERGENCY RESPONSE POLICY
Adopted November 28, 2016
PROCEDURE
It is the City’s policy to respond to sewer backups, lift station problems or failures, or other system
problems or failures 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. During normal business hours, all calls and
reported problems will be routed to and employees dispatched by the sewer or water foreman. Normal
business hours are from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. At all
times other than normal business hours, emergency calls will be routed to Scott County Dispatch. The
Maintenance Supervisor will designate one or more employees as “on call” during non-business hours
and will develop an on-call schedule and on-call response procedures.
RESPONSE
It is the goal of the department to provide an initial response within one (1) hour or as soon as possible
under the circumstances, of receiving report of a problem or an emergency call. The time necessary to
remedy a problem will vary depending on the number of calls, the nature and seriousness of the
problem, weather, and other factors that may impact the department’s ability to respond, find and
correct a reported problem.
When appropriate, a City employee will check the City’s sanitary sewer main at the point of the
problem. Corrective action will be taken if the City’s sanitary sewer main is found to be blocked or
obstructed.
When a blockage found in a sanitary sewer main is causing a backup into a private portion of the
system, the first priority will be to address the problem in the City’s sanitary sewer main.
After a sanitary sewer backup is remedied, efforts to determine the cause of the blockage or backup will
be undertaken by those responding to the emergency. Written records of emergency response will
include information and documentation concerning the cause(s) or possible cause(s) of the blockage or
backup.
When investigation of a backup determines that the problem is within the private portion of the sanitary
sewer system, the sewer customer will be informed of possible corrective action they may have to
perform on their portion of the system.
REPORTING
The State Duty Officer (1-800-422-0798 or 651-649-5451 in the metro) must be notified when bypassing
the City’s sanitary sewer system or otherwise discharging sewage anywhere other than to the City’s
sanitary sewer system.
The State Duty Officer must be notified within one hour of discovery of sewage being discharged
anywhere other than to the City’s sanitary sewer system.
All sewer backup claims must be referred to the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust (LMCIT) for
determination of liability. City employees are instructed to not admit or mislead residents about City
liability for backups in the municipal sanitary sewer system.