Several water, sewer, manhole issues identified

     It appears that there are several water main, sewer, and manhole issues scattered throughout the city streets.

     Jim Tjaden, Monticello Water/Wastewater superintendent, provided the city council with an update during the May 3 council meeting.

     “This is probably going to cost us some money,” warned Tjaden.

     A water valve near the intersection of W. Buckeye Street and S. Chestnut Street has been leaking for quite some time.

     “We tried to exercise it, sometimes that stops the leak,” said Tjaden. “But it’s not stopping the leak. We’re going to have to repair it.”

     Tjaden explained that after talking with contractor Eastern Iowa Excavating & Concrete, this particular issue could “be delicate.

     “The way the water main is situated, we’re going to have to turn off the school’s (Shannon Elementary) water,” added Tjaden.”

     He said the goal is to complete the project on a Wednesday, which is an early-out day for the school district at noon.

     “We’ll start digging in the morning and get it done,” offered Tjaden.

     There are also manholes creating problems, one on Second Street between N. Walnut Street and N. Chestnut Street.

     “It’s falling in,” warned Tjaden. “That could be a car falling into the abyss.”

     Council members Dave Goedken commented, “We’ve talked about lining some of these brick manholes. We need to move along with that.”

     The Water Department recently jetted a sewer line on Elm Street that extends down Third Street. Once they started the process, water was seen coming through the street.

     “That means there is no sewer line,” said Tjaden. “It’s gone.”

     The department also investigated a sewer line issue on Cherry Street, which is a dead-end. Tjaden said a resident has repeatedly experienced issues with the sewer line.

     “They had their line televised and their line seems to be good,” he said. “We’ve been there three times in a week to jet it.”

     Roto-Rooter had plans to be in town late last week to insert a camera down the line.

     “We need to see where it’s bad and what’s going on,” said Tjaden.