By Lori EhdeToilets are flushing more smoothly and sinks are draining more quickly in Kenneth homes since the city’s new wastewater treatment facility was installed this fall.Walt Kopp said it’s one of the most difficult projects he’s tackled in his many years as mayor."This past year has been hard on me," he said Monday. "You have to make decisions where you can’t please everybody." Environmental hazards forced the city to consider a uniform method for handling its wastewater. "They were running it over the ground and in ditches," Kopp said. "There were pools of sewage in the alley behind the liquor store, and there were guys pumping it out in their back yards."Kopp said it wasn’t hard to show that individual septic systems weren’t working well in the city of Kenneth."But on the flip side, there were those who didn’t want it," he said. "Some had just put in new tanks. … So everybody starts riding ‘old Walt.’ But you gotta start someplace."The biggest sticking point for Kenneth residents was the cost of the project, roughly $650,000.Of that, $360,000 was covered by a federal grant, and $220,000 was loaned by the Minnesota Rural Water Finance Authority.The rest, $70,000, for service lines, will be paid for by users. For the 32 homes connected to the system, that comes to $42 per month that didn’t used to be on their utility bills. That amount, to be paid for 20 years, includes the monthly portion of their annual $96 tax assessment plus a little extra to cover future wastewater maintenance.The system includes an 8,000 to 10,000 gallon tank that works like a residential septic system, with two automatic pumps."They don’t run all the time, because Kenneth doesn’t use that much water," Kopp said.The 2.2-acre drain field is located east of Kenneth and has 1 1/2-inch pipes buried about a foot beneath the surface. The pipes have one-quarter-inch holes every 5 feet.The contractor for the work was Midwest State Utilities, Slayton.Because of the cost, and because the construction work affected streets and yards, Kopp said the process was tedious and unpopular."Decisions about when you run a line and how you run it aren’t always what people think are the right decisions," Kopp said. "You do what you have to do. That’s the way it is."For example, some residents had to part with favorite trees, and others had their yards torn up for a while. But Kopp said many ended up with better sidewalks and driveways and had trees and junk removed for them.In general, he said most residents are satisfied with the new system."People are having way less trouble in their homes," he said. "Toilets are flushing better, water is draining away a lot better. … This was the way to go."
