Received a Letter? Click Here to Schedule an Inspection.
Have a Question? Please call (507) 775-3400
Want to know more about the program? Review the information below.
- What is an Inspection? What is the City replacing?
- Who is getting an inspection?
- Why is this important?
- What should I do?
- What’s the next step?
- What is the Water Service Inventory?
Health and Safety
We take the health and safety of the public, including our city and consultant staff, seriously and will be implementing precautions to conform to CDC guidelines for COVID-19 (coronavirus).
Refer to the Program Information for Health and Safety Practices.
What is an Inspection?
What is the City replacing?
The City of Byron is inspecting properties to verify that clear water from sump pumps, roof drains, sump pit/pump, and seepage collection system connections to the sanitary sewer are not present. The clear water robs the capacity of the sanitary sewer costing taxpayers extra money and causing backups and environmental issues. See Why is this Important? section below.
The City of Byron is coordinating the clear water inspections with the water meter replacements. Typically water meters for each property are replaced every 10 to 15 years due to age and condition. All meters within the inspection area are older than 15 years and are in need of replacement. The City is switching to a new meter style that is more accurate and will be read remotely.
Typically, inspections and water meter replacement will take a total of 30 minutes.
In fairness to residents, all buildings with a sewer account will be inspected, regardless of whether a basement, sump pump, or water meter is present.
There will be no fees or costs for these inspections or water meter replacement.
Property owners have the option to hire a private plumber to complete their sump pump inspection. However, a private plumber is not allowed to replace the water meter. All of the plumber's fees would be at property owner's expense.
Who is getting an inspection?
Refer to the inspection map to know if your property is included in the program. The area was selected due to age of existing water meters, and signs of clear water connections during rain storms in the area.
Why is this important?
Like many cities in Minnesota, Byron faces a challenge with its sanitary sewer collection system. During significant rainfall events the system is overloaded by excess ground water and rain water (clear water). When it rains, flows can jump up to ten times the normal rate. Overloaded sewers lead to basement backups, and in extreme cases, require bypassing flow directly to the river. This causes damage to homes, personal property, increased health concerns, and environmental issues.
Excess clear water enters the system through cracks in sewer mains and manholes, and from private sources such as sump pumps, seepage collection systems, defective service laterals, and roof drains. National studies show the distribution of public/private clear water sources is approximately 50/50. Removing private sources of clear water is essential to solving the clear water problem.
A sump pump also removes ground water from around a home’s foundation. The proper place for a sump pump to discharge is to the exterior of the home or storm sub-drain if available. The improper place for it to go are into a floor drain or tub sink, which connects to the sanitary sewer. A single sump pump discharges between 20 - 100 gallons per minute (gpm). It takes only a few improperly plumbed sump pumps to overload a neighborhood sewer main that has a typical capacity of 400 gpm.
Water meters are replaced every 10 to 15 years to make sure accurate water usage is being tallied throughout the system. All meters within the inspection area are older than 15 years and are in need of replacement. The City is switching to a new meter style that is more accurate and will be read remotely.
What should I do?
Help remove clear water from the system by checking to make sure your sump pumps, seepage collection systems, and roof drains discharge onto the ground or into a storm sub-drain if available.
Review the City Ordinance 20-06, which can be found in the notices section to better understand what is required. The Ordinance generally authorizes mandatory sump pump inspections to verify that buildings do not have clear water connections. It also authorizes the use of a 'clear water' surcharges which can be added to sewer bills for buildings that have not been inspected and passed.
Removing clear water from the sanitary sewer is the neighborly thing to do because your sewage may end up in someone’s basement as overflow.
If your property is in the inspection area (refer to the inspection map), please see the What's the next steps? section below.
Before the inspection make sure there is clear and easy access to your sump pump (if applicable) and water meter. This will allow the inspection and water meter replacement to occur in a timely matter.
What’s the next step?
The program area is separated into approximately three equal sectors, designated by color (red, yellow, and green) to stagger inspection times throughout 2021. The program will begin with the red sector and you will be notified by mail to schedule an inspection. Refer to the inspection map for details.
When notified please schedule an inspection. Before the inspection takes place, please refer to program information to prepare for the inspection.
Before the inspection make sure there is clear and easy access to your sump pump (if applicable) and water meter. This will allow the inspection and water meter replacement to occur in a timely matter.
Check out the links below for FAQs, proper sump pump installation diagrams, program updates and more!
- About Inflow and Infiltration (I/I)
- Public Notices and Literature
- About the Inspections
- FAQ
- Contact Us