Onalaska, La Crosse still working on a sewage treatment deal

The 20-year agreement is about to expire

It looks like there won’t be an immediate long-term agreement between the cities of La Crosse and Onalaska for sewage treatment plant.  

Onalaska is coming off a 20-year deal to use the La Crosse sewage treatment plant and is trying to extend that while coming up with a better plan.

“That’s kind of where we’re at, trying to extend it while we work on a bigger deal,” Chilsen said.

Part of that plan could be working on a larger agreement among other local municipalities, though it’s easier said than done.

“There’s a lot of moving parts,” Chilsen said. “There’s a lot of councils and water utilities and mayors. We have to get everybody aligned in the right manner and that sometimes takes a little.

“To be truly collaborative we need to cast that net out as far as we can.”

Chilsen had previously expressed disappointment on the rates that the sewer utility was going to charge his city.