Aerial View of the Greater Green Bay Area
NEW Water Man hole

Flush n' Forget

You may see NEW Water’s Field Services team out and about in your neighborhood making sure that wastewater can make its way to NEW Water to be cleaned. They do this around the clock, so you can “flush and forget!”

While out in the community, you may see the Field Services team performing the following tasks:

Checking Lift Stations

Lift stations pump wastewater to a higher elevation, so it can gravity flow to NEW Water. Technicians check that the pumps are running and operating properly in order to prevent sewer backups. You may hear these pumps hum or even feel the vibrations from them.

We appreciate your patience as we continue to serve your family and our community, around the clock!

Cleaning Wetwells

Wetwells collect wastewater for lift stations to pump to a higher elevation. Wetwells are routinely cleaned to prevent sewer backups. Technicians remove things like grit, grease, and unflushables. What are “unflushables”? All the muck that should not have been flushed in the first place, like wipes (even the kind that say “flushable,”) feminine hygiene products, gum wrappers, paper towels, dental floss … all of this can prevent water from flowing freely, and prevent your ability to “flush and forget.” Please only flush the “3Ps” (pee, poo, and toilet paper). Learn more here.

Doing Diggers Hotline Locates

Know before you dig! Call Diggers Hotline at 811 prior to any digging. You should check to see what utility lines, sewer lines, and water lines are located – this is for your own safety and to ensure that nothing gets accidentally ruptured. NEW Water is a member of Diggers Hotline. When locate requests are received, they are screened by a NEW Water Field Services Technician using the Geographic Information System (GIS) to determine if any of our underground infrastructure is in the area. If so, a field visit is required to mark our infrastructure with green paint and/or green GBMSD flags (NEW Water is the brand of GBMSD – which stands for Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District). Standard locates are responded to within three working days, and emergency locates are responded to within one hour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I have a sewer smell in my house. What should I do?

A: We recommend putting water in all of your drains to see if the smell goes away. If it doesn’t, try to note what direction the wind is blowing when you smell it and when the smell began. To locate the source and solve the issue, we would recommend contacting a plumber, and/or your municipality (Not sure which municipality you live in? If you’re in Brown County, check their municipality website).

Q: Why shouldn’t I cover manholes?

A: If manholes are blocked or covered, inspections cannot take place. Clear and unobstructed access to this critical infrastructure is needed in order to continue to provide service to your home, your neighborhood, and our community.

Q: Why do you place flags? Can I move them to mow?

A: NEW Water is a member of Diggers Hotline (call 811) and are required to place flags or green paint when a locate request is near our underground infrastructure. For safety purposes, it’s important that these remain in place, in order for any digging work to occur without interrupting underground utility lines (sewer, water, electrical, etc.).

Q: Are you part of the City of Green Bay?

A: No, but the City of Green Bay is a customer of NEW Water. NEW Water is the brand of the Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District, and provides services for 15 municipal customers. See our service area map here. For the City of Green Bay, the Green Bay Water Utility provides award-winning drinking water services, learn more here.

Q: What is a meter station?

A: A Meter Station is a building or small hut that sits on top of a sewer pipe and contains a flow meter, sampler, and small fridge. The flow meters collect flow data 24/7 for billing purposes and the Field Services team will collect samples from these buildings for our Lab to process.