5 Wausau-area municipalities are in a stinky situation as sewer rates go up

RIB MOUNTAIN, Wis. (WSAW) - The Rib Mountain Metropolitan Sewage District is in Phase 2 of its revamping process which includes new equipment, but to do that they need to increase rates.

People in Kronenwetter, Rothschild, Weston, Rib Mountain, and Mosinee will be affected by that increase. The Rib Mountain Metropolitan Sewage District has been around since the 1980s — and so has some of its equipment — meaning it was time for some new machinery.

“We’re replacing things like the motor control centers and redoing HVAC and we’re also doing some maintenance on our digester covers and we are adding two new pieces of equipment,” said Rib Mountain Metropolitan Sewage District Director Eric Donaldson.

Donaldson said if they don’t make these updates now, it could be really bad for these areas.

“The wastewater could back up into the communities,” he said. “You know, come out like manholes or into people’s basements and we certainly don’t want that and I don’t think the communities want that either.”

While Kronenwetter will see a 53% increase, Mosinee will likely see worse.

“Rib Mountain is the lowest at $25 per month for somebody using 5,000 gallons up to, it looks like the City of Mosinee is the highest — about $98 per month for 5,000 gallons,” Donaldson said.

If you have an issue with the increase you can contact the Rib Moutain Metropolitan Sewage District.

“You could go to our website at ribmoutainmetro.com and there is just a lot of information on there and certainly if anybody has any questions, call, email, or stop in, " Donaldson added.

To voice your concern in person, you can do so at the Kronenwetter Public Forum on Dec. 5 at 5:30 p.m. in Kronenwetter. Donaldson said he plans to attend as well.

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