Elk Mound seeking approval for pilot project to reduce phosphorus in wastewater

By LeAnn R. Ralph 

ELK MOUND  —  The Village of Elk Mound is hoping to receive approval from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to try a pilot project at the wastewater treatment plant to reduce phosphorus from the discharge. 

Mark Levra, director of public works, reminded the Elk Mound Village Board at the August 19 meeting that he had been working with Davy Engineering on a phosphorus compliance plan.

Elk Mound’s Wastewater Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) is expected to be issued in September, Levra said.

The DNR sends out a 60-day notice saying that the permit has been publicly posted, but Elk Mound has not yet been notified of that, he said.

Levra said he has been working with the village’s chemical supply company, Hawkins Inc., and the plan is to add a chemical, probably ferric, at the wastewater treatment plant to bring the phosphorus discharge down to 1 milligram per liter.

Ferric is a compound that contains iron. 

Elk Mound is currently discharging phosphorus at 3 mg/L.

If the DNR does not approve the pilot project to add a chemical at the wastewater treatment plant, then Elk Mound will have to enter into a pollutant trading agreement, Levra said. 

The annual payment to Dunn County for pollutant trading would be $40,000 starting in 2025, he said.

Either way, whether the village has a pilot project that results in a reduction to 1 mg/L or pays farmers upstream to reduce phosphorus discharge, the village would not be in compliance with the DNR’s goal of .075 mg/L. 

Even if the village can try the pilot program, Elk Mound is still technically not in compliance but is working toward it, Levra said.

If Elk Mound can receive approval for the pilot project, Hawkins would set up the tank and pump in Elk Mound for free, and the village would pay for the chemical, he said.

Levra noted that he had sent raw sewage to Hawkins for testing the week prior to the village board meeting.

Police Department

The Elk Mound Police Department still needs police officers, said Elk Mound Police Chief Chad Weinberger during his report to the village board.

The police department has been dealing with a number of nuisance issues, such as long grass, junk vehicles, unlicensed dogs and dogs at large, he said.

The most unusual event was someone at the Settlers Ridge apartment complex who was upset that “someone was on their lawn,” the police chief said.

It is difficult to explain to an upset person that it is not “their lawn,” it is the lawn that belongs to the apartment complex and everyone can walk everywhere with their dogs as long as they clean up after their dogs, he said.

The person complained that “their dog is looking at me,” and the police chief said he had given the advice to “get some curtains.”

The police chief invited members of the village board to spend a day with him to see for themselves about the calls he takes and the variety of issues he deals with.

Cynthia Abraham, village trustee, said she has always wanted to do a ride-along with the police chief. 

Many of the issues the Elk Mound police department deals with are related to traffic, Police Chief Weinberger said.

EMPD had 102 individual cases in July, some of which were public records requests and background checks. Nine traffic citations were issued, resulting in two arrests, he said.

Cases also included a theft of $10,000, a gas drive-off and dogs at large, the police chief said.

In 2021, the Elk Mound Police Department had helped the Boyceville Police Department investigate a sexual assault case, and in July, the defendant was sentenced to 25 years in prison, he said.

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue inspected a business in town that had not paid taxes, and $9,000 of product was seized, Police Chief Weinberger said.

More cyber crimes and scams seem to be popping up in the rural areas of Dunn County. While it might be tempting to think it is the elderly that are falling for cyber scams, 18 to 25 year olds are falling for the scams, he said.

Other business

In other business, the Elk Mound Village Board:

• Approved a conditional use permit application by Buell Consulting on behalf of Vertical Bridge, LLC, to construct a mobile service support structure at S405 Holly Avenue.

• Approved an updated park rental policy.

• Tabled the item pertaining to use of park funds for comprehensive plan projects to allow time to obtain information on the feasibility and the price of installing walking trails and making renovations to park bathrooms. If there is $84,000 in the fund, and the engineering for walking trails costs $60,00, then walking trails are not feasible, Levra said.

• Approved a proposal from Western Wisconsin R/C Rock Crawlers to install a remote controlled rock crawler course at the village park. All of the work will be done by volunteers and at no expense to the village. Western Wisconsin R/C Rock Crawlers now reportedly has 300 members. 

• Approved a portable restroom for Lower Mound Hill Park that will cost $145 per month and would be in place from May 1 to October 31.

• Renewed the agreement for two years with HydroCorp for cross connection control services. The cost is $151 per month beginning January 1, 2025.

• Discussed the possibility of changing the September 16 meeting because Karin Wolf, clerk-treasurer, will be unable to attend the meeting. Levra offered to cover for Wolf and take notes, so the next meeting of the Elk Mound Village Board will be September 16.