Creative Solutions for Mandated & Court Ordered Improvements

The Washington County Commissioners are expanding the sewer system in a well-established neighborhood outside of Marietta Ohio to comply with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's (OEPA) Findings and Orders. Devola, a Census-Designated Place has 2,639 residents per the 2020 census and is on the east side of the Muskingum River, north of the City of Marietta in southeast Ohio. Approximately half of Devola is served by a centralized sewer system also known as Phase I, while the other half consists of private septic systems, including leech fields, aerators, and holding tanks. In 2012, the centralized system's treatment facility was retired, and a new lift station and force main was built to convey sewage to nearby Marietta for treatment. One year prior, in 2011, the OEPA completed an investigation into the causes of high nitrate levels found in the Muskingum River near Devola. The investigation concluded that failing septic systems in Devola significantly contribute to the nitrate contamination in the groundwater, which is above the drinking water standard level of 10 parts per million. The OEPA also determined that the aging private septic systems in Devola are not suited for new or upgraded individual sewage disposal systems, due to small sized lots and porous soil conditions. In 2012 the OEPA sent the County the Director's Final Findings and Orders which stated that no discharge to surface waters would be allowed. A new central sanitary sewer improvement project would be designed and constructed to serve as Phase II within Devola. This new sewer system will consist of approximately 50,000 feet of sewer main network installed by open-cut trenching, boring or directional drilling; and connections to approximately 553 properties. The proposed project would also include any necessary improvements to the Phase I system, specifically enhancements to the downstream pump station due to the increased sanitary flow. At this point, the Washington County Commissioners opted to table the project as they did not have any funding to move forward with a then estimated $6M (sewer main only) project. Eventually the OEPA took the matter to court, and the County was then ordered by a judge in November 2018 to comply with the Findings and Orders. The Commissioners were now required by the OEPA and a court order to solve a very complex problem in a small community that was not only unsupportive of the project but had no means of funding such a significantly sized venture. WSP USA, Inc., a globally recognized professional services firm contracted with the County to provide planning and public outreach, engineering design, bidding and construction phase services and help with identifying funding sources to finance the project. The final design included improvements to the existing system, new sewer mains and laterals totaling over 87,000 feet (about 26.5 km) with multiple creek crossings, operational controls, new Septic Tanks with Effluent Pumps (STEP) for 560 parcels, electrical connections for the pumps, abandonment of the existing septic tanks, and site restoration. The design firm assessed various collection systems as part of the preliminary design and determined that use of a pressurized system with STEPs at each residence would ultimately save the client upwards of $5.8M in construction costs. This is due to the depth and subsequent restoration a gravity sewer system would require. The new system will use horizontal directionally drilled mains, ranging in size from 2 to 6 inches, for timely and minimally evasive conveyance to Phase I. The pressurized system has many advantages over traditional gravity, and in the future more communities may opt for this type of system. By using horizontal directional drilling, installation costs will be kept to a minimum, often lower than conventional gravity systems. Other advantages include no inflow and infiltration into the system, as well as replacement of manholes with low-cost valves and clean-outs which are spaced further apart. These cost savings are significant and ultimately led to successful implementation of the pressurized sewer plan in Washington County. To assist the County connect with the affected residents and businesses, the design firm developed a website to reach them more effectively. The status of planning, public comments, past meeting content, and future meeting dates could be quickly disseminated to the residents. Assistance was also provided to the County in identifying potential grants and loans through such organizations as the Ohio Public Works Commission, Water Pollution Control Loan Fund, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Water and Waste Disposal Loan & Grant Program, the State of Ohio, and the US Army Corps of Engineers. In total nearly 75% of the construction cost was secured through grants and funding assistance, while the remainder of the funding was reached through a low-interest OEPA loan. The project was bid in April 2022 and awarded to RDR Utility Services Group of Clarksburg West Virginia for a sum of $14.5M. Construction commenced in the summer of 2022 and is currently about 65% complete. Final completion is expected in the winter of 2024.