(Undated)– Heavy rains over the weekend resulted in three area cities bypassing wastewater as sewer systems became overwhelmed.
In Buena Vista county, Albert City bypassed about 200-thousand gallons of sewage into the Raccoon River after nearly four inches of rain fell in less than an hour. The bypass took place from about 10:30 p.m. Sunday until 3:30 a.m. this (Monday) morning.
In Emmet county, Ringsted bypassed about 500-thousand gallons of sewage between 10:30 p.m. Sunday and 3:30 a.m. this (Monday) morning. Officials say most of it went into nearby fields, but some may have made its way into Black Cat Creek, a tributary of the East Fork of the Des Moines River.
And in Palo Alto county, the city of Emmetsburg began discharging wastewater from a lift station into the West Fork of the Des Moines River beginning about 10:00 p.m. Sunday. It continued through the day today (Monday).
The DNR says in each case, downstream water users were notified of the situation.
