The town of Dalton, Wisconsin, has announced it will abandon its public water service and that homeowners in the area will have to pay to dig private wells.
The president of the Dalton Sanitary District says the system was never meant to serve the public. A well was originally drilled for the fire department, but nearby homes continued connecting to the well until it was considered a public utility. It provides water to 59 customers, but it’s not compliant with Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources regulations.
Instead of paying the $1.5 million cost of upgrading the system, residents voted to abandon it. But some homeowners like Dolores Feurhammer say she didn’t expect the water to get shut off. “If I would have known this was all going to take place, I never would have bought it,” she told News 3.
Sewer Worker Racks Up 1,992 Hours of Overtime and $539,098 in Paychecks
A stationary engineer with the New York Department of Environmental Protection made headlines recently after clocking 1,992 hours of overtime and racking up $539,098 in paychecks.
An official with the DEP tried explaining the extraordinary paycheck, saying the man’s position requires a state operator license and proficiency with high-voltage equipment, which is an uncommon skill set.
“New York’s sewers run 24 hours a day with more than 1 billion gallons of wastewater and these engineers protect public health by ensuring it all flows in the right direction,” the DEP spokesperson told the New York Post.
Residents Stranded in San Diego After Water Main Break
A 24-inch water main break in the North Park area of San Diego, California, caused some chaos recently, as streets flooded and a local high school was forced to close down.
Water was rushing through the streets for more than two hours, and residents of the neighborhood were trapped in their homes. Many residents said several inches of water made its way into their homes.
Although it was fixed in a short time, 18 people required temporary housing after the water main broke.
Memorial Built in Honor of Four Men Killed in Lift Station Mishap
Public works staff in Radcliffe, Kentucky, recently commissioned a monument company to create a memorial for four men who were killed in a sewer lift station accident back in 1985.
The $20,000 tribute is in a monument park near the site of the original accident. It features photographs of Radcliff Police officer Billy Burns and water district employees Raymond Dawley Jr., Danny Cummings and Richard DeReiter.
The four men died after being overcome by methane during an inspection in a 35-foot shaft.
