The City of Great Bend Administration & Public Works Departments would like to put out additional public information on Basement Flooding and our current wastewater treatment plant update.
The City of Great Bend is posting the KDHE – Kansas Department of Health and Environment Wastewater Incident Report Form to the City Website. This form needs to be filled out and given to KDHE for tracking and incident reporting because of the excessive rainfall we’ve had in Great Bend. This form can be downloaded directly at: greatbendks.net/DocumentCenter/View/1840/KDHE-Basement-Flooding-Pamphlet?bidId=.
Also, if residents tied to the Great Bend Wastewater Treatment Facility have had flooded basements from this May 2019 excessive rainfall they must fill out this Incident Report Form and turned into KDHE which can be downloaded directly at greatbendks.net/DocumentCenter/View/1841/Wastewater-Incident-Report?bidId=.
Also remember that one should not wade around in or allow kids to play in floodwaters for several reasons: Flood waters can contain raw sewage, hazardous waste, sharp and dangerous objects, hidden rocks, ditches and potholes, storm drains, pipes and manholes that have powerful suction that can cause drowning, & various forms of contamination. This is not just a Great Bend issue, as you can see surrounding areas and states are in worse condition. Please keep yourself and family safe from unnecessary illnesses.
As for our Wastewater system update, our wastewater plant is still working as it was designed however due to the excessive amounts of extra water being pumped into our wastewater system we are concerned about the overload. City Public Works Director Simon Wiley said, “Our system is designed for 3.6 million gallons per day, we typically average 1.2 Million per day and since May 22 we are running on 8 million per day.” City staff want to remind people to drain flooded basements or extra water into the street drains, NOT into the sanitary sewer system via floor drains, bathtubs, toilets, sinks, etc., this can and will create sewer backups in residents’ homes.
City personnel will continue to monitor the situation and media will be notified should anything change. Additional questions can be directed to the Public Works Department at 620-793-4150.
