Treatment plant fails chemical testing, twice

By Jason Arndt

Correspondent

      Union Grove Public Works has launched an investigation into the cause of two failed tests at its Treatment Plant in a three-month span and inquiring with commercial businesses to determine the source.

      “There is an investigation going on in regards to toxic chemicals going into the treatment plant,” Public Works Director Mark Osmundsen explained at the Village Board’s Nov. 25 meeting.

      “A lot of times you don’t know where it is coming from, so we are going to local businesses.”

      Osmundsen is requesting Material Safety Data Sheets from each business to review what chemicals are being utilized.

      “We will meet with owners and see how much chemical they are using and if they changed chemicals within the last two years,” Osmundsen said.

      He indicated the two failures were likely from excessive use of cleaning chemicals and compounds.

      “We will then figure out where it is coming from,” Osmundsen said. “Actually, if you use too much cleaning chemicals, then it becomes a danger to aquatic life.”

      Aside from climate and temperature changes through the duration causing minor disturbances to the treatment plant, Osmundsen indicated the recent findings were of concern.

      “It is definitely out of the ordinary because we have always ran really well,” Osmundsen said, adding: “Once in awhile you will get an upset between spring and fall.”

      The Public Works Department conducts routine testing at its Treatment Plant and the agency is working to resolve the issue before the Department of Natural Resources gets involved.

      “We do testing throughout the year on different things and when you see an upset on the treatment plant and something is going on you investigate it,” Osmundsen explained. “It has happened twice in a three-month period, so it is not an isolated incident,”

      Osmundsen remains optimistic the source of the problem will be located in a timely manner and a solution implemented.

      “We will find it and actually we have located some of the chemicals causing it,” Osmundsen said. “We are working side-by-side with our engineers to determine it.”

      Residential and industrial properties are not part of the investigation, according to Osmundsen.