From June 20-21, the state of Minnesota experienced a heavy rain and this heavy rain ran through the Osakis area. The water runoff infiltrated the city’s sewer system, so now the city is awaiting test results regarding the impact of that water runoff as it flowed into Lake Osakis.
It is not yet known how much water ran off into the lake, according to the Osakis City Council. The Sauk River Watershed District is said to have conducted their tests at a number of locations in the lake. As soon as the results are available, they are going to be passed on to the public.
This is information that can benefit Minnesota as a whole because rainwater runoff that infiltrates the sewers is something that happens often throughout Minnesota and the results can benefit many, as it is not entirely known what all of the effects of rainwater infiltrating sewer systems are.
As for what happened in Osakis, the majority of the infiltration occurred at the main lift station in the city. This is near the boat access downtown. The runoff was reportedly discharged from a pipe that runs northward from the lift station. The pipe runs all the way to Lake Osakis.
When this happened, one of the treatment systems were bypassed, allowing the water to flow into the lake without it being treated.
It has been stressed that the water was infiltration water rather than straight sewage, but the water was not considered entirely lean either.
The City of Osakis has been unable to say exactly how the lake was impacted, so they have not been able to comment very much. They will be able to release further information when they receive the results of the testing.
When the results are available, the city is making them available on theosakisreview.com.
