The Public Works Department maintains the City’s Wastewater system. The system has eight lift stations throughout the city. Seven of these are located at various areas in the city to pump the wastewater to the main lift station through 21 miles of sanitary sewer lines. These seven lift stations are located in the following areas: by the Mark's Home & More store, 8th Ave NE by the railroad tracks, King Street, 12th St. NW and 6th Ave. NW, Links area, Kraus Park, 7th St SW by the Apartment Complex, and in the East Park Addition. The Main lift station is located at the East Otter Tail County Fairgrounds.
The main lift station pumps the wastewater to the pond on the south side of Highway #10. The pond system consists of six ponds. Two ponds are the primary ponds that take the wastewater first. The four secondary ponds hold the wastewater before it is pumped onto cropland. There are six crop sites set up with irrigation systems to handle this.
We test the wastewater that is coming into the ponds four times a month to see what is coming into the ponds. This allows us to make adjustments on the treatment. The discharge water that is being applied to the crop sites is tested during the discharge months to make sure the treatment is meeting the MPCA requirements. We also test wastewater coming from various industries in town. The sanitary sewer lines are cleaned on routine schedule. The lift stations are checked on a regular basis for correct operation.
