Engineering

Engineering operations crews began fixing a sanitary sewer main pipe April 6, 2020 after 1,000 gallons of untreated wastewater was cleaned up from a sanitary sewer overflow over the weekend.

At 11:30 a.m., April 4, 2020, on the 2400 block of Grimm Street, City crews noticed the wastewater ponding in a grassy area while they were doing routine cleaning maintenance. The City reported the overflow to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and began cleanup.

City maintenance crews removed a 10-foot by 40-foot area of soil and hauled it away for disposal.  City crews cleaned and sent cameras into the sewer main pipes to search for a cause of the overflow and prevent future issues. Crews believe the cause was a clog of debris (pipe and dirt).

Residents and services were not impacted. No human contact was reported. There was no long-term effects on the environment and no impacts to surface waters.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Administrative Code and the City of Madison’s Capacity, Maintenance, Operations & Management (CMOM) Program requires City Engineering to notify the public of sanitary sewer overflows.