'Inundated' line floods four Prior Lake homes with raw sewage

Prior Lake American

Four Prior Lake homeowners received a less-than-pleasant surprise on July 23 after a sewage line nearby overflowed and flooded the basements of the homes with raw sewage and water.

City Manager Frank Boyles said the sewage line became “inundated” after maintenance workers at Hidden Oaks Middle School on Fish Point Road emptied the pool into the line.

The area is under construction for the Huron Street and Woodside Road reconstruction project, which includes “removing and replacing the street, storm sewer, sanitary sewer and watermain,” according to the city’s website.

“Every year, the school district empties the pool — I’m sure for maintenance purposes and to renew the water,” Boyles said. “One of the maintenance guys at the school did that. In the process, we think, the water introduced in the system at that particular time resulted in some areas being inundated. It was beyond the capacity of the sewer system.”

Kristi Mussman, director of communications for the school district, confirmed the draining of the pool was for annual, routine maintenance.

As part of the reconstruction, the construction company had rerouted the sanitary sewer line in order to work on a section of the pipe. The bypass line had less capacity than the regular system does, Public Works Director Jason Wedel said.

“They were working on the sanitary sewer, so when they are removing a section of sanitary sewer, you have to bypass pump around that piece of pipe you’re working on,” Wedel said. “We found out about (the overflow) pretty quickly, so they had somebody run up to the school and ask them to stop draining the pool.”

The contractor working on the reconstruction project recognized the line had overflowed and subcontracted another company that specializes in water damage to get to work on the homes.

“The city’s contractor ... did respond quickly and (was) proactive,” Wedel said. “I thought they did a good job in that regard.”

The subcontracted company started work on vacuuming the carpet, putting in fans and more in the homes to deal with the sewage.

“There were four houses affected ... one was more significant than the other three,” Boyles said. “What was being introduced into the system was only water from the pool, but the lines are also full of sewage. It was a combination of the two.”

Most of the initial cleanup of the homes is done, Wedel said, but one resident had a finished basement and will need more “extensive repairs.”

The school district and the contractor are currently working with their respective insurance companies to determine how to pay for the damage and repairs to the homes.

“We, as a city, are obviously monitoring it to make sure our residents are being taken care of and that things are progressing,” Wedel said.