Employee Spotlight: Minnesota PeopleService team steps up to the plate vs. snowmelt

A group of PeopleService employees recently went above and beyond to help a northern Minnesota community avoid what could have been the disastrous impact of spring snowmelt.

Employees Paul Christensen, Chris Schmidt, Dyllon Dalquist, and Brent Milczark serve the Pike Lake Area Wastewater Collection System (PLAWCS), which provides service to businesses and households on and around Pike Lake in St. Louis County. Northern Minnesota saw record snowfall this spring, followed by unseasonably warm temperatures (80 degrees and higher), which caused the snowpack to rapidly melt. With that much water, much of it entered the sewer system for PLAWCS. That’s when the PeopleService team jumped into action.

Christensen, Schmidt, Dalquist, and Milczark worked around the clock to combat water that was quickly overwhelming the system, backing up into homes and out manholes. They brought in pumping trucks to remove as much water as possible out of the system and save as many homes as possible from backing up, as well as to limit the amount of water introduced to the environment. These efforts continued for many days before the water stopped infiltrating the system and flows returned to normal.

Kevin L. Comnick, PLAWCS chairman, praised the PeopleService employees for their service and partnership.

“They did extraordinary work from start to finish. The commitment they demonstrated, along with their tireless efforts, is to be commended,” Comnick said. “The Pine Lake Area Wastewater Collection System is very thankful that PeoplesService was an integral part in resolving this issue.”