About Grinder Pumps at Wintergreen

Most of the mountain homes at Wintergreen connected to the Nelson County Service Authority system have a grinder pump.

In the valley, less than 200 Stoney Creek homes are connected to waste services provided by Aqua Wintergreen.

The services often note the cost of the grinder pump on their monthly bill. Who is responsible for the grinder pump at a residence depends on the homeowner’s agreement with the utility. On the mountain, the Nelson County Service Authority manages almost all of the grinder pumps for homeowners.

A grinder pump works like a household garbage disposal, but on a larger scale. It grinds up wastewater produced in your home (i.e. toilet use, shower, washing machine, etc.) and pumps it into the public sewer system.

Households on sewer systems using grinder pumps have a tank outside that collects all the solid materials and effluent from the house. The grinder pump inside this tank takes the solid materials and grinds them to a smaller size where all the waste is turned into a slurry and pumps it into the sewage collection system connected to a treatment plant.

The grinder pumps are run on power from the home it is serving, so if the power is out, the home's grinder pump is not working and residents should attempt to keep water use to a minimum.

Grinder pumps cannot grind and pump everything. The long list of things that should not be sent through a grinder pump includes grease (a byproduct of cooking that comes from meat fats, oils, shortening, butter, margarine, food scraps, sauces, and dairy products); cat litter; aquarium gravel; strong chemicals or toxic, caustic or poisonous substances; degreasing solvents; diapers, feminine products, or cloth of any kind; fuel or lubricating oil, paint thinner of antifreeze; plastic objects; and egg or seafood shells. (Some published lists of items homeowners should not flush down the drain feel it necessary to include “explosive or flammable materials.”)

Some homeowners who plan on being away for several weeks will replace the wastewater in the tank with clean water just before leaving the property. This can help minimize odors. Do this by running an inside faucet for about 10 minutes–long enough for the grinder pump to start working (go outside near the pump and listen to verify it has started), then, after the pump starts, turn the inside faucet off. The pump will run until the tank is empty and shut off automatically. This process will cleanse the pump and keep it filled with a minimum amount of clean water. (Always leave the power to the pump on.)

Many Wintergreen homes have a grinder pump failure alarm (either audible or visual or both) which goes off when there is a high water level in the collection basin. If the alarm goes off, the administrator of the sewage system should be called and water use should be limited until the issue is addressed.

More on utilities at Wintergreen here

Last updated January 2021