By Richard Crawford

It may be the most studied septic system in the state, according to county officials on-site at the Waconia Event Center last Friday.

In an effort to determine whether the septic system serving the Waconia ballroom meets codes, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency recommend that Carver County bring in outside inspectors to do a thorough review.

The first of two reviews was completed last week by Robert Whitmyer, a septic inspector and soil specialist from Duluth. Whitmyer spent more than four hours at the site, taking measurements and drilling holes in the ground to determine whether the system, built in 1980, was properly constructed. His findings are expected to be presented to the county within a week.

A second inspector is scheduled to do a separate review the first week of December.

The cost of each inspection is more than $2,000, according to county staff. The price tag is higher than a typical inspection because of the comprehensive nature of the reviews and the qualifications of the inspectors, county staff said.

The Waconia ballroom, purchased for $2.5 million by the county last year, is located next to Lake Waconia.In the past year, questions have swirled around the system. Carver County Commissioner Tom Workman, of Chanhassen, has raised questions about whether the system met septic codes and called for a new inspection, but the majority of the County Board voted to rely on a previous inspection provided by Marty Ziermann, a licensed septic inspector who built the system. In June, Workman on his own took the lid off the system and calculated that the system didn't have adequate separation from the groundwater to meet septic codes.

After the rest of the County Board chose not to review the matter further, Workman filed a complaint with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, which recommended that the outside inspectors be brought in.

In addition to county staff, Workman and Commissioner Gayle Degler were at the site Friday morning while Whitmyer was surveying the property.

Remodeling work is also taking place inside Waconia Event Center. The county has a contract with Lancer Hospitality to continue operating the ballroom.