(Arnolds Park)– The city of Arnolds Park is going to crack down on restaurants that are dumping grease into the city’s sanitary sewer system.
It stems from an incident on April 27th when 18 inches of sewage backed up in the basement of Murphy’s of Okoboji…destroying a walk-in cooler which would have been full of beer had it been the summer.
Massive amounts of grease were found in the sewer; large chunks of it were seen floating in a nearby manhole…and officials say the line was plugged several blocks downstream where the grease had congealed. It’s not known from exactly what restaurant(s) it came from. Murphy’s does not have a kitchen.
To address the matter, the city has sent letters to restaurant owners advising them to install grease traps and not to dump the stuff down the drain. The city council Wednesday evening agreed to include restaurants and commercial kitchens in an ordinance that requires certain businesses have grease traps. The proposed amendment will come up for a first reading at the council’s next meeting.
