Ramsey County History – Winter 2013: “‘Cold Blooded Fraud:’ The White Bear Lake Sewer Project of 1926–1935”

“Cold Blooded Fraud:” The White Bear Lake Sewer Project of 1926–1935 
Author: James Lindner

In the mid-1920s, the City of White Bear Lake occupied a relatively remote portion of Ramsey and Washington counties in Minnesota, but its population was growing and city leaders decided that they needed to replace outmoded septic systems with a municipal sewer system. In the process of making these improvements to its infrastructure, the city learned that in addition to the tax money needed to pay for this project, it also needed professional engineers to plan and oversee the work and a competent contractor to install the system properly and make sure it functioned as planned. Construction of the sewer system began in 1926, but it was not completed until 1929, and litigation over the problems and shortcomings of the project lasted until 1935.
PDF of Lindner article