Scottkent,
Is this a residence or a commercial establishment such as a restaurant or grocery store with hot food preparation?
I think the both of you need to examine the situation with cooler heads. The Public Works Director for his "accusations and threats of legal action" and you because you have gone to the Mayor, and by doing that you have already aggravated the situation because it is now political.
As I mentioned before, I used to be in his boots having the unenviable task of managing these pumps. They work very well when maintained and inspected regularly by staff. Two "failures" in two years, does indeed give cause for concern. Since the City repaired the pump and have insisted on your ceasing of pouring grease down the drains, I will assume that it was caked full of grease over the time period of a year. Before getting too excited though, you may want to check out the statutes of your community, particularly those concerning the pumps. I'll wager they have some "introduction of deleterious materials into the sewer collection system" provisions which may carry some weight regarding your situation. The City may be able to refuse to accept your effluent under that provision, so be careful with digging your heels in. On the other hand, in my experience, refusal by the City is going to be a very difficult task.
You are going to have to understand that since the City owns the pump, it will be responsible for it in perpetuity. This includes complete replacement in about 15 or 20 years. Add this cost to the ongoing maintenance costs (inspections and periodic repair) and this will add up significantly over time, notwithstanding prematurely incurred costs due to "grease" failures.
These pumps are designed to function in circumstances where some grease (cooking, vegetable, etc) will be present. However, since the tolerances and dimensions are quite small in the E-One tank, there is not too much room for a significant buildup of grease without the pump beginning to operate outside it's curve, resulting in a breakdown. There are enzymes that can assist in breaking down greases, most can be found in hardware or septic supply stores. Go for the higher concentration of aerobic/anaerobic bacteria product, if this is a route you choose.
You may also want to get the municipality or a private inspection company to camera your service line. You may find that the pump is also being affected by "grease" restrictions in the line.
Finally, if there is that much grease being generated over a period of time, the municipality may request that you install a grease trap prior to discharge into the pump. I know I would if I was the Public Works Director. That way the majority of the grease will be captured before it gets to the pump sump and the responsibility for cleaning will be vested with the property owner. If it gets too full, your sewer won't flow very well either. The addition of enzymes in this circumstance would also be helpful to reduce some odours as well.
I may also suggest sitting down with the Public Works Director and any others necessary to listen and hear what problems they have encountered with your service resulting in the pump failure. This would include the individual whom sent the pump out for servicing/rehabilitation and find out what exactly went wrong in both cases. It should be a positive and proactive meeting, with any adversarial tendancies kept in the respective back pockets, to resolve this issue. You need to understand the system better and the municipality needs to also understand that ordinary people have habits and do not understand the complexity of pumping systems.
KRS Services
