The Owen-Withee Sewer Commission met on Monday, November 4 at Owen City Hall with Owen, Withee, and Kerry Ingredients represented.

Withee DPW Derek Schad was elected president for the next year.

Sewer fees were discussed and a 3 percent increase was approved in both the sewer use fee and the rate per thousand gallons. The sewer use fee will increase from $1.20 to $1.24. The rate per thousand gallons will increase from $9.81 to $10.10. For a household with a usage of 3,000 gallons per month, the overall increase would be $.99 per month or $2.97 per quarter. The last time the rate was increased was in 2022. The new rates take effect at the beginning of 2025.

They also approved the sewer budget with revenue and expenses in the amount of $454,502.17 each. A new pick-up will be purchased in 2025 with some funds budgeted. If additional funds are needed, they will be borrowed from the equipment fund.

A future wastewater treatment plant upgrade was also discussed. The current facility was built in 1985. The standpipe is rotting out and the DNR has approved a temporary repair until a plan for the entire facility can be put in place and grants applied for. Owen DPW Chad Smith said he is working with the city’s engineers and they plan to apply for a grant to repair the standpipe, purchase a new blower, and add SCADA to that building. The standpipe will have a seal coat applied until further repairs can be done. The upgrade of the entire plant is estimated to cost $8-$9 million. Smith said they will try for both a CDBG grant and principal forgiveness. One loan has been paid off but he is budgeting the same amount to pay the other current loans off faster.

The Sewer Use Ordinance and Updated Industrial Agreement was not ready for approval so no action was taken.

The Inflow and Infiltration (I&I) report was looked at. Both Owen and Withee have lined some sewer pipes this year and it is hoped that will help lower the numbers. More sewer lines will be videoed in the coming year and Owen is also looking at doing some manhole repairs. Owen’s I&I was as high as 4,762,000 gallons and as low as 1,009,000 gallons in a month. For Withee, the high was 4,003,764 gallons and the low was 706,704 gallons per month.

The Commission members also had a chance to look at information on PFOS and Phosphorus. Testing is being done for PFOS on an every other month basis per the DNR requirement. The average PFOS for the year is 6.01 ng/L, which is under the limit allowed. For PFOA the average is 2.30 ng/L, which is also below the allowable limit. The best results for phosphorus have been since ferric has been added. The limit allowed by their permit from the DNR is .80 mg/L. Their average is .64 mg/L.

Accepting hauler holding tank waste was approved. The plan is to accept holding tank waste from two haulers at a maximum of two loads per day. The DNR has approved doing a test run. No septic system, industrial, or commercial waste will be accepted. In the future, it might be possible to accept some sludge from Kerry Ingredients.