Fort Dodge residents who don't comply with the city's sump pump inspection may find themselves without water service as early as Wednesday.

''We are planning to do water shutoffs to get compliance with sump pump inspections,'' City Manager David Fierke told the council Monday.

He said up to 250 households have not agreed to have a sump pump inspection so far this year. They are the ones that will find their water turned off.

Fierke said that by the time the water is shut off, those homeowner will have received three notices asking them to allow an inspector to check their sump pump.

People without sump pumps must allow an inspection to confirm that they don't have one, according to Fierke.

The city began a crackdown on sump pumps that are illegally connected to the sanitary sewer in 2004. During heavy rain that summer, the flow from the pumps helped to overload the sanitary sewers and cause basement flooding.

''It only takes a few sump pumps to cause a problem,'' Fierke said.

If water is turned off to a house, it will be restored when the homeowner allows an inspection. There will be a $35 fee to have the water turned back on.

Contact Bill Shea at (515) 573-2141 or bshea@messengernews.net