AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO BLACK CREEK UTILITY CUSTOMERS:
 
We want to talk about sump pumps for a minute and we hope you’ll hear us out. This isn’t the most exciting topic, but it’s incredibly important since we have more storms and another 1.5" of rain headed our way tomorrow night. We really need you to help us out here in the next 24 hours if you can.
 
By now you’ve probably read about the failure or possible failure of wastewater treatment plants in nearby communities suffering the devastating flooding of local waterways. Though we haven’t experienced this here in Black Creek, our WWTP has been pushed to its limits by the large volume of groundwater flowing into it in addition to the sewer waste it’s designed to treat. The plant and our staff have worked hard to prevent worst-case scenarios that include sewage backup into our customers’ basements, but those efforts come at significant costs. We aren’t going to discuss those today, but we are going to make a plea:
IF YOUR SUMP PUMPS ARE DISCHARGING INTO THE SANITARY SEWER, PLEASE TAKE CORRECTIVE MEASURES TO END THAT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
 
Maybe you can’t get to it today, but please try to make this change as soon as you can. Remove your sump pump discharge into the sewer and switch to a surface-draining setup. This will make a world of difference for our plant and will help us prevent those sewage backups. We don’t want that to happen and we know you don’t, either. The best tool we have to prevent sewage backups is to cut the amount of water flowing into the plant and doing that is a team effort.
 
Thank you for your time.
Scott Sassman
Black Creek Utility