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Dickinson Co. P & Z Hears Input As Work Begins To Update Comprehensive Land Use Plan

October 17, 2022 Steve Schwaller

(Spirit Lake)– The Dickinson County Planning and Zoning Commission is beginning the process of updating the county’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan, which hasn’t seen a major overhaul since 2006. The Commission this (Mon.) afternoon heard input from water and waste water providers regarding future capacities. Steve Anderson, Superintendent of the Iowa Great Lakes Sanitary District, says ongoing infiltration issues are a huge concern for that entity when it comes to any future development and where it may occur in the lakes corridor…

“Sump pumps, illegal sump pumps being hooked up to the sewer system. Private sewer lines that have been in the ground since the ’20’s and ’30’s. Those private lines are cracking, separated, have tree roots, whatever. All that stuff leads to water getting into the sewer system. And then I really don’t know what the maintenance programs are for the cities on their sewer systems.”

Anderson says they have data they can trace to pinpoint problem areas of infiltration…

“We had a sewer system that was flowing normally, about 23, 24 gallons a minute and we had a two inch rain event and it jumped up to 209 gallons a minute, I think it was for some 40 minutes. Doesn’t seem like a lot but when you multiple places that are doing that then it just all adds up, so.”

Anderson says the district recently hired two additional workers to conduct inspections for any illegal hookups.

Planning and Zoning members also today (Mon.) heard from representatives of Clay Regional Water and Osceola County Rural Water.

Planning and Zoning Coordinator David Kohlhaase says the process of updating the Comprehensive Land Use Plan could take at least two years to complete. He says the 2006 plan took three years to finish.

Representatives of several cities were also on hand for today’s (Mon.) discussion.

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