Welcome to the
Island View Sanitary District Webpage
Here's how the Island View Sanitary District looks from satellite. The three lift stations are described in the legend at the bottom right of the photo.
Secretary
Vicky Rowe
Email Vicky
Phone: (920) 740-7624
Lead Lift Station Operator
Jim Latta
Email Jim
Phone: (920) 216-6421
Treasurer
Lois Hammerseng
Email Lois
Phone: (920) 233-2684
Business Secretary
Julie Rosenau
Email Julie
(Please email her during normal working hours.)
Phone: (920) 236-9440
Payments and correspondence can be sent to:
IVSD: PO Box 82, Winnebago, WI 54985
(or) 625 E. Snell Rd, Oshkosh, WI 54901
Looking for approved minutes and agendas of previous meetings? Click HERE.
Instructions to lot owners, buyers 2024 who want to build a house
Instructions for Lateral Contractor 2024
2024 Lateral Inspection Permit
Revised Sewer Backup Policy 2024
Looking for the IVSD Ordinance? Here's the link: Sewer Use Ordinance - Updated April 10, 2024
Looking for information regarding lift station operator and commissioner positions? Here's a link: Commissioner and Lift Station Operator positions
TITLE SEARCH COMPANIES: Title search letters for Island View Sanitary District are $40.00 per parcel. Please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope with your inquiries to:
Island View Sanitary District
C/O Julie Rosenau
PO Box 82
Winnebago, WI 54985
Konrad retires, Hammerseng appointed to IVSD
Tom Konrad recently retired from the Island View Sanitary District after serving as treasurer for 14 years. Konrad was the Superintendent of Utilities for the City of Oshkosh for 36 years, overseeing both wastewater and drinking water plants. He replaced outgoing IVSD commissioner Jim Zinth in October of 2017.
During his time on the IVSD board, Konrad oversaw the purchase of three on-site generators that made it easier for lift station operators to respond to power outages, participated in talks that led to an agreement with the City and the sanitary districts in 2025 and lent his expertise in several ways regarding wastewater management.
Outgoing IVSD president Ron Harrell said of Konrad, "Tom has been an incredible resource for the district over the years, and his knowledge and historical perspectives were invaluable."
Lois Hammerseng has replaced Tom Konrad on the IVSD commission. She was formally appointed at the Town of Oshkosh Board meeting January 26, 2026.
A retired probate paralegal, Hammerseng grew up during the summer months on Island View Drive and has many fond memories of Lake Winnebago and the surrounding area. She also remembers the channels being dredged, and the installation of the sewer laterals in 1996-'97.
Having raised their children in the City of Oshkosh, her husband and she were very involved within the community. But now, as a permanent resident of the Town of Oshkosh for the past 20+ years, she said, "I feel it is time to become involved in this township. What a better place to start than the Island View Sanitary District!"
Richard Hansen replaces Ron Harrell as IVSD commissioner
Richard Hansen has replaced Ron Harrell as president of the Island View Sanitary District as of January 1, 2026. Harrell had been president since November 2007. Here's a message from Richard.
Hello neighbors. My wife and I moved to Island View Drive in 1998, two years after the formation of the Island View Sanitary District. My father was one of the original "lift station operators" as he and my mother moved to IVD several years prior to the formation of the sanitary district. I can still recall ice skating around the discolored ice that formed along the shoreline from the discharge of individual drainage fields. Thankfully, the sanitary district has eliminated this circumstance. Having recently retired after working 33 years as an engineer, the last 27 with a local paper company, I am looking forward to giving back to the neighborhood by serving on the IVSD board. You can often find me running through the streets of the district or outside working in one of my many gardens. Stop by for a chat if you have any suggestions or concerns with the sanitary district. Cheers, Richard
New generator now online at Lift Station 3
The Island View Sanitary District now has an onsite generator at all three lift stations. A new 50 KW gaseous Generac generator is now online at Lift Station 3, eliminating the need for hauling the district's portable generator to that site when the power goes off.
The total cost for the 2025 generator, its concrete base construction, tree and stump removal, electric and gas lines, equipment and labor was approximately $49,000.
From 1997-2014 in a power outage situation, the District's lift station operators had to travel to the garage to pick up the District truck, hook up the 60 KW portable generator, get back across the railroad tracks, and begin powering up each lift station. Time was of the essence, and during lengthy outages, the process had to be followed several times. often in bad weather.
In the fall of 2014 the District purchased a 60 KW gaseous Generac generator and installed it at Lift Station 1 on Island View Drive at a total cost of $42,000. It was purchased to power up the station immediately in case of an outage and allowed the operators more time to hook up the portable generator at Lift Stations 2 and 3 and send the sewage to Lift Station 1.
In 2018, a 50 KW gaseous Generac generator was purchased and placed at Lift Station 2 on Channel View Drive. Total cost was close to $40,000. Once that generator was up and running, the portable generator was only needed at Lift Station 3.
Wipes lead to sewer main backup costing $888
On the night of January 31, 2024, the Island View Sanitary District was forced to call a sanitary contractor because of a main line plug caused by a wad of flushable wipes and some construction grade gravel.
The Contractor bill for the plugged main on Chesapeake Court was $888. Having to call the contractor is expensive and certainly can be eliminated if everyone in the area would not flush wipes down the toilet.
Please heed this message so we don’t have to deal with this in the future. Rather than flushing the wipes, place a plastic lined waste container, with a lid, near your toilet for proper disposal.
The City of Oshkosh Waste Water Utility webpage has informative documents and videos revealing the hazards of flushing wipes.
Remember, we all pay for these blockages.
We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.
The Island View Sanitary District commissioners
Commissioners raise quarterly fees for 2022
After months of discussion, the IVSD Board of Commissioners unanimously voted September 8, 2021 to increase the sewer user quarterly fees for its customers from $120.00 to $150.00, effective January 1, 2022. The increase, the first since 2015, when fees went from $100.00 to $120.00, will be used to address several issues facing the IVSD in the upcoming years.
Maintaining aging infrastructure, televising miles of pipe and laterals to find leaks that increase the amount of ground and stormwater (I&I) that gets processed by the City and paid for by IVSD, paying for legal counsel as a new agreement with the City approaches, and a host of other items are contributing to this increase.
We can all do our part to keep expenses down by flushing only what is acceptable, running sump pumps to the lake or ditches, and maintaining the plumbing in our homes.
Sincerely,
IVSD Board of Commissioners
Ron Harrell, President
Thomas Konrad, Treasurer
Vicky Rowe, Secretary
Dan Cowling, Ad-Hoc Commissioner
Melanie Krawiec, Ad-Hoc Commissioner
Some things to keep in mind to help us keep our sanitary system running smoothly
With the COVID-19 virus upon us, Here are some important tips for keeping our IVSD performing smoothly and efficiently. We need each other's cooperation!
- Don't throw any flushable wipes, diapers, Depends, rags, paper towels or the like down the drains, toilet.
- Don't flush any substitutes for toilet paper into the system.
- If you lose power, try not to flush your toilets or run water if you're in the vicinity of Lift Station #3, located at the corner of Indian Point Road and I Ah May Tah Road. We use a portable generator to keep #3 active.
- Don't allow your sump pump to empty into the sewer main. This is ground water that should not go through the system as it doesn't need to be treated by the City and raises the costs to all of us to have it processed. Send your sump pump water to the lake, the channels or the ditches.
- Don't send fishline or hair (either pet or human) down the system. This has led to costly repairs in the past.
- Use the strainers in your kitchen sink to catch food items then put them in the trash.
- Dispense with grease properly. No matter what, first let the grease cool. Pour it into a container and let it harden; re-use for cooking or throw in the trash. Pour into a foil-lined bowl, let it harden; fold foil around the fat and throw in the trash. Soak up smaller quantities with paper towels; throw in the trash. Mix with bird seed and let it harden; put it in a bird feeder.
Lift station operators Jim Latta, Jerry Tribbey and Jim Merten pumped the sewage from Lift Stations #3 and #2 into Lift Station #1, then Winnebago Liquid Waste pumped out Lift Station #1 so that Jacob Hofman from Energenecs could remove the damaged valve and install a new one.
The repair, which cost around $4,000, includes the new valve, labor for Energenecs and IVSD maintenance men, and Winnebago Liquid Waste's bill for labor and two tankerloads of sewage, one of which was deposited at the City site. The other went back into the wet well and got run through our system.
We can't stress enough that each individual in the district needs to be diligent about what goes into the system. Repairs as expensive as these, coupled with sump pumps that are hooked up to the main lines, lead to increased quarterly bills for all of us.
A Wally Schmid employee remediates a broken lateral by connecting and adding some new PVC pipe.
2017 televising leads to broken lateral remediation
In October 2017, after televising part of the IVSD, the district finished up remediation of several homes along Island View Drive that were allowing ground water infiltration into the system. With cooperation from the owners, the district corrected an improper sump pump hookup, a cracked collar on a lateral, a leaking toilet, a cracked Y in a yard, and a "squished pipe" connection between a home and a lateral. Televising also revealed an improperly installed saddle connecting the main and a lateral, and that was repaired. In the future, wherever and whenever our lift station operators detect unusual water flow, we will televise that area to pinpoint the problems and act on them immediately. Every time we correct a problem we're saving the district money.
Speedy Clean televises portions of district to find groundwater infiltration
Speedy Clean Drain and Sewer of Menasha televised 2,793 feet of pipe April 28, 2017 in parts of Island View Drive and I Ah May Tah Rd.. Using a self-propelled camera, the company probed the mains, laterals, and manholes looking for groundwater infiltration that was entering the system and being pumped through Lift Station 1, leading to unnecessary expense to district customers. Homeowners whose laterals were carrying larger than normal amounts of water were notified by Speedy Clean/IVSD and have been asked to contact the company to remediate their laterals as soon as possible.
Often the cause of the leakage is a crack in the lateral running from the home to the sewer main. Cleanout pipes that have been run over or broken off can also lead to infiltration, and sump pumps that are illegally hooked up to the lateral are also heavy contributors.
The district plans to continue televising in the future as they become aware of infiltration problems.
Here is a chart calculated by commissioner Tom Konrad explaining the costs to district customers associated with water infiltration.
Flow Rates and IVSD Cost for Leaks into the Sanitary Sewer
0.25 gallons per minute = 15 gallons per hour, 360 gallons per day 131,400 gallons per year which costs $352.15.
0.5 gallons per minute = 30 gallons per hour, 720 gallons per day, 262,800 gallons per year which costs $704.30.
1 gallon per minute = 60 gallons per hour, 1440 gallons per day, 525,600 gallons per year which costs $1,408.61.
2 gallons per minute = 120 gallons per hour, 2880 gallons per day, 1,051,200 gallons per year which costs $2,814.54.
3 gallons per minute = 180 gallons per hour, 4320 gallons per day, 1,576,800 gallons per year which costs $4,225.84.
4 gallons per minute = 240 gallons per hour, 5760 gallons per day, 2,102,400 gallons per year which costs $5,634.43.
5 gallons per minute = 300 gallons per hour, 7200 gallons per day, 2,628,000 gallons per year which costs $7,043.04.
Island View Sanitary District Facts
- The sewers were constructed beginning in 1996.
- There were 264 original hookups.
- As of September 2022, there are 293 hookups.
- Five hookups are allowed each year. If there aren't five, the remaining number carry over to the next. Fifteen accrued carryovers are allowed. The District has never reached five hookups in one year since 1996, so it could hook up 15 new homes in one year without a lottery.
- The Island View Sanitary District involves over 6 miles of 8" PVC pipe. It is approximately 305 acres, 174 of which are residential. 144 acres occur within the Town of Oshkosh, 2.5 within the City of Oshkosh and 28 acres in the Town of Vinland (according to Oshkosh 2030 Sewer Service Area, East Central Planning Commission 2007)
- The laterals are at minimum 4" PVC.
- The pipes run along or under Island View Drive, Channel View Drive, parts of Indian Point Road, Killdeer Lane, Chesapeake Court, I-Ah-May-Tah Road, and parts of Sunnyview Road and Sherman Road.
- The system has three lift stations (see map): Lift Station 1 is located on Island View Drive, Lift Station 2 is located on Channel View Drive, and Lift Station 3 is located on Indian Point Road. The largest is Lift Station 1 that also pumps sewage from nearby City of Oshkosh residents. Lift Station 2 services Island View Drive and Channel View Drive, and Lift Station 3 handles the sewage from I-Ah-May-Tah, Indian Point Road, Killdeer Lane and Chesapeake Court.
- Each lift station has two pumps.
- The district has one 60 KW diesel portable generator housed in the IVSD garage next to the Town Hall on County Trunk Y to be used in emergency situations and three permanent Generac on-site generators at Lift Stations 1, 2 and 3.
- The Island View Sanitary District has three commissioners: Richard Hansen, Vicky Rowe and Lois Hammerseng. The business secretary is Julie Rosenau. Financial adviser is Jim Zinth.
- Hookup charge for the sewer is $10,000; the cost is $9,000 for a lot that was stubbed in when the district was formed in 1996-1997. Hookups must be inspected by Island View Sanitary District inspector Jerry Fabisch. A pressure testing permit/inspection costs $175 and a reconnection/lateral capping permit costs $100 and must be obtained from IVSD business secretary Julie Rosenau. A private contractor must handle the hookup, take out insurance and post a bond.
- Owners must contract out for their own laterals.
- IIn March of 2009, the District had Great Lakes TV Seal televise 5, 708 feet of pipe; in June of 2010, 6,646.6 feet, and in April of 2011 7,365.2 feet. Speedy Clean televised 6,000 feet in the spring of 2013. The City of Oshkosh televised the 40 homes that feed into Lift Station 1 in 2011. Speedy Clean televised 790 feet in October 2016 and 2,793 feet more in April 2017. The City televised the south end of Island View Drive in 2024, and Speedy Clean, for about $6,000, cleaned and televised existing sewer on Sherman Road, Sunnyview Road, Island View Drive to Lift Station 1 and Channel View Drive for the IVSD in late 2024.
- As of January 2022, users pay $150/per quarter for sewer service. Most of the money goes for electric and gas consumption at the lift stations, ongoing manhole rehabilitation, periodic televising, salaries for employees, maintenance and equipment replacement, insurance, truck maintenance and fuel, storage building rental and to the City of Oshkosh for sewage treatment. The more we use the more we pay, hence our attempt at fixing the problems of leaking manholes, sump pump abuse, damaged laterals.
- The District purchased $2,396,327.45 in sewerage system revenue bonds, series 1996, November 26,1996 (replaced on March 31, 1999) at 4.3 percent interest. Each year the district paid back money on the loan and paid it off entirely in mid-2015.
- IVSD meetings are usually held the second Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at the town hall. All meetings are posted at four sites: the information box on Island View Drive near Lift Station 1, the town hall message board, this website and the at the Winnebago Post Office. Station 1, the town hall message board, this website and the Winnebago Post Office.
- The lift station operators are Jim Latta (lead lift station operator), Joe Olszewski (assistant lead lift station operator), Kyn Anthony, Troy Hamidi, Jim Merten, Jerry Tribbey and Richard Hansen. Roger Brey, former head lift station operator, passed away in 2025.
- The District owns a 2014 Dodge truck. It is parked in the garage next to the Town Hall.
- Commissioners and ad hoc commissioners are paid $75 per meeting.
- Lift station operator pay is $30 for on call per day; $25 regular rate; $37.50 for time and a half; $50 for double time; $30 mechanical
- At least three times a year lift station operators remove the grease and other foreign matter from the lift stations. The less "foreign matter" we put down the drain, the less it costs to clean out the lift stations.
- Sump pumps are not to be discharged into the sewer system. Abusers will be fined.
On-site generator went online Dec. 22, 2014
The new on-site Generac generator went online Monday, December 22. IVSD commissioners voted 3-0 to purchase the generator at its July 9, 2014 meeting. The generator has been placed at Lift Station 1 and will provide immediate power to the pumps during power outages. In the past, IVSD lift station operators had no more than 30 minutes to drive to the IVSD garage, hook up the trailer, drive back to Lift Station 1 and hook up the generator. Having the on-site generator will allow lift station operators to use the portable generator at Lift Stations 2 and 3 in case of an outage.
The district applied for and was granted a variance July 9, 2014 by the City's Board of Appeals to allow for the new generator. After considerable discussion at the August 6, 2014 meeting, commissioners decided to pay for the generator from existing funds, rather than from a loan from either the state or a local bank. A rate increase of $20 per quarter beginning January 2015 will help replenish the spent funds, pay the City of Oshkosh for sewage disposal and maintain the manhole rehabilitation plan developed last year.
Public Service installed a gas line to the generator on October 13, 2014.
Below is information from the IVSD Ordinance.
ARTICLE VII. USE OF THE PUBLIC SEWERS
Section 1. No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any storm water, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, uncontaminated cooling water, or unpolluted industrial process waters to any sanitary sewer.
Section 2. Storm water and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designed as storm sewers, or to a natural outlet approved by the District. Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process waters may be discharged, on approval of the District, to a storm sewer or natural outlet.
ARTICLE XI. PENALTIES
Amendment #9
Section 1. Any person found to be violating any provision of this Ordinance shall be served by the District with written notice stating the nature of the violation and providing the person in violation a thirty(30) day period for the satisfactory correction thereof The Commission may extend the period of time for satisfactory correction of the violation upon application for an extension of the thirty (30) day correction period by the offender and upon good cause shown or upon the Commission's discretion based upon considerations for weather or other good cause. The offender shall, within the period of time stated in such notice, or upon the time period as extended by the Commission, permanently cease all violations and make all corrections specified in such notice. There shall be no "time limit" before violation of Article VIII shall be enforced.
Section 2. Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit provided for in Article XI, Section 1, may be charged with such violation under the laws of the State of Wisconsin, the Town of Oshkosh or the Island View Sanitary District, and if convicted thereof, shall forfeit an amount not exceeding $200.00 for each violation. Each day in which any such violation shall continue shall be deemed a separate offense. Any person violating any provision of this Ordinance may be prosecuted for said violation before the Municipal Court of the community where such violation occurred or in the Circuit Court of the County where such violation occurred.
In addition to the penalties set forth in Article XI, Sections 2-5 of this Ordinance, the court shall require that the offender pay court costs of the proceeding and may further require payment of all actual costs necessary to return the drainage status to acceptable working order.
Jim Merten and Rick Siemann exercise the portable generator at Lift Station #2 for events that occur like the one described below. The generator is tested once a month.
A day in the lives of the IVSD lift station operators or why the district hires local residents to maintain the district's lift stations
It was Christmas Eve Day 2013, 12 degrees below zero... COLD!!!! At 5:30 AM, the lift station operators received an emergency call from Lift Stations 2 and 3 (located on Channel View and I Ah May Tah) indicating the stations were running on battery backup and that the power was out.
Lift Station Operator John Ross was on call so he surveyed the situation and called Head Lift Station Operator Sel Micka to tell him that a power phase had been lost and that Stations 2 and 3 were down. The two pumps in each lift station run on three phases so the phase that was out did not affect the power to the rest of the homes in the area. (To further explain this, each home needs a primary wire"top wire" and a ground. All residences use single phase "one top" wire and a ground. The top wire that was out did not feed the homes in the area. The lift station needs all three top wires and a ground because it is three phase---Micka)
Shortly after Ross called Micka, lift station operator Jim Merten called to ask what was happening. Merten was plowing snow so he agreed to meet Ross and Micka at the IVSD shop next to the firehouse on County Trunk Y to pick up the district's portable generator and help pull it to the lift stations. On the way to the shop, Ross notified Wisconsin Public Service of the power outage.
While Ross and Micka readied the generator, Merten took his own truck to #2 to plow the snow and make way for the generator's arrival.
One of the main problems a winter power outage presents in a lift station is loss of power to the heaters which keep the equipment inside the station running. The equipment doesn't perform well below 50 degrees. It's also difficult for the lift station operators to work in the early morning hours because of the low light and the bitter cold.
Upon arriving at #2, the men pumped down the station, with the help of the portable generator, sending the effluent to #1, located on Island View Drive. Lift Station #1 was the only lift station not affected by the outage. While Ross and Micka worked at #2, Merten went ahead and plowed out #3.
After pumping down #2, Micka and Ross joined Merten at #3. Because of the extreme cold, the padlocks on the power control board would not open. The crew used warm WD40 from inside the station to thaw out the locks. At this time lift station operator Mark Sellers arrived, so Merten was able to go back to his plowing. Because the heat needed to be maintained inside the two lift stations, Sellers went back home, got his personal generator, and came back to #3 where he connected it to the heater. He would stay at #3 until the power was restored.
Micka and Ross went back to #2 and maintained the station's power with the district's portable generator. Fortunately, power was restored before #3 reached a high level and would need to have been pumped, necessitating a trip back to #3 with the district's generator. Power came back on around 8:15 a.m. so the men returned both lift stations to automatic operation and went back to the shop to park the truck and generator, then head home. Hours later the men found out that a car had hit a power pole, causing the outage. Many residents were unaware that the power had gone out, and few knew the drama that had played out in the early morning hours.