Stinky situation as Kronenwetter’s waste pumps are getting clogged

WAUSAU, Wis. (WXCO) – Public Works is asking to only flush toilet paper as weird items have been seen in sewage lately, causing problems.

Kronenwetter Public Works is asking people to stop putting items down the toilet that don’t belong.

Four times this week, Kronenwetter’s lift stations went offline because of suspected items that were flushed down the toilet. Twice pumps were pulled. Finding rags, bags, gloves, ash, grease, clothes, disposal wipes and more at their waste pumps.

Public Works says they’re dealing with plugged pumps and a clogging system that doesn’t allow wastewater to move around.

This problem has been at Lift Station 11 near County XX and Lift Station 3 near Mosinee. They know this issue has been happening in neighborhoods, but their system can’t track specific addresses. The system just alerts that this is a huge problem.

Right now all the pumps are working, but that doesn’t mean they will all be working for long. They are worried about the impellers that help break up the waste. If those go, everything will start to back up. If the motor clogs, it gets hot and begins to burn down.

They do have backups, but if those backup pumps and impellers shut down, Kronenwetter is looking at spending a lot of money to repair their sewage system.

Two pumps costs around $28,000 and with the impellers it’s near $50,000, says Kronenwetter’s Public Works.

They’ve had problems with the lift stations before, but nothing like they are seeing now.