Please Remove All Sump Pump Discharge from Sanitary Sewer Inlets

The City of Roseau Utility Department urges all residents to remove any sump pump discharges from the city's sanitary sewer system immediately.  Storm water is prohibited from being discharged into the city's sanitary sewer lines.  First of all, storm water does not need to be treated and therefore puts unnecessary strain on the entire sanitary treatment system for no practical purpose.  Secondly, the sanitary system was not designed to process this huge increase in water volume, ultimately leading to overloading of the sanitary sewer piping and lift station capacity.  Once system capacity is reached the excess water must go somewhere and that is back into basements of homes, and the water is no longer rain water, it is sewage.  In the two most recent rain events, the city's sanitary sewer system has witnessed a huge spike in volume that can only be explained by a significant number of sump pumps discharging into the sanitary mains.  In both cases the system nearly failed which would have lead to flooded basements.  Please make sure your sump pump is configured to discharge outside of your home.