Otter Tail Water Management District

Business Hours: Monday-Friday 7:30 AM-4:00 PM

OTWMD Active Maintenance Properties Weekends and Holidays Service Call Checklist

Generally from when the Septic System Alarm comes on the tanks should have about 200 gallons left of capacity left before any back up occurs in the house (Each flush of a toil is about 2 gallons of water on a standard modern toilet). Depending on when the alarm comes on it may be possible to conserve water until the weekend/holiday is over. A sure sign of backup being imminent is hearing gurgling in the drains when running water or flushing the toilets. Toilets and drains may also drain slower as you are getting closer to backing up in the house. If you believe you can not make it through the weekend without having your alarm addressed please look into the following steps:

1. Property owners should contact a septic pumper/maintainer and have their septic tanks pumped. Do not replace/fix anything else at this time.
2. Property owner should contact the District Office the next open business day to discuss the service call and inform the district of the contractor that pumped the septic tanks.
3. Property owner should provide a copy of the bill from the Septic Pumping Company to the OTWMD for reimbursement to the property owner of the pumping cost. This reimbursement will happen at the next Monthly Board Meeting for the district. These meetings are held the second Wednesday of each month.
4. The district will address the issue/problem that caused the service call during the work week. For example, replacing the pump in the lift station. If the issue is in the sewer line between the septic tank and dwelling this is still the responsibility of the homeowner to take care of. The district covers anything from the inlet of the septic tank through the drainfield. The only exceptions to this are freeze ups in the winter months and homeowner negligence. 
5. Property owners should contact the District Office during business hours for any questions or concerns about your septic system. The district office number is 218-548-7400 and the district email is ottertailwatermanagement@outlook.com.
6. Only properties on the OTWMD Active Maintenance Program will receive reimbursement for the pumping of the septic tanks. All OTWMD Passive Maintenance Program properties are still the responsibility of the property owner to take care of.