You are here

Maintenance Woes: Failed Septic System Forces Cancellation Of Film Festival At Effigy Mounds National Monument

Share

A failed septic system at Effigy Mounds National Monument forced postponement of the annual Winter Film Festival, though the park remains open for visitors this winter/NPS

Let's put a face on part of the National Park Service's maintenance backlog. At Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa, the annual Winter Film Festival had to be cancelled because the park's sewer system can't handle big crowds. And it might not be replaced before summer.

It's easy to say the maintenance backlog is estimated to be somewhere between $11.3 billion and $12 billion to make all the necessary repairs. But it strikes a little closer to home when you read that a sewer system is so old it can't handle crowds and so a park has to discontinue a popular program or close a visitor center, or when you hear that the trans-canyon water pipeline at Grand Canyon National Park needs to be replaced at a cost of about $100 million so folks on the South Rim or at Phantom Ranch or the Indian Garden campground can have water.

At Effigy Mounds, the traditional Winter Film Festival was postponed for a year because of the failing septic system.

“I really hate having to do this, because the Winter Film Festival it is a wonderful multi-generational tradition here,” said Effigy Mounds Superintendent Jim Nepstad. “It brings in extra visitors during the winter months, which are otherwise fairly slow here. But with a failed septic system, we can’t accommodate the extra visitors. We made it through the fall with a line of portable toilets outside, but that isn’t a very desirable solution during the deep winter months.”

The septic system, constructed in 1959, has just enough capacity to handle the sharply reduced staff and the usual number of visitors that stop by during the winter, so the visitor center will remain open to the public during this time, a park release said. No special events will be planned until the new system is constructed in the spring or summer of next year.

“We may not be hosting special events like the Film Festival until we get the system replaced, but I want to emphasize that the park and the visitor center will remain open,” said Superintendent Nepstad. “And we certainly plan on bringing the Winter Film Festival back next year.”

Visitor center hours through the winter are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., seven days a week except for major holidays.

Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.