First Things First

One of the major issues confronting the sewer system in New Albany and many older cities is the problem of inflow and infiltration. This is a situation of leaking or broken pipes which allow rain water to leak into the system. Another problem is illegal hookups to the sewage system with direct connections of downspouts and sump pumps.

New Albany has a discrete system which keeps stormwater and sewage water in separate pipes headed for separate destinations. Sewage to the plant at West Tenth Street and stormwater to a creek or basin and then to the river. Massive surges of flow into the plant during large rains can be attributed to a failing pipe system rather than an uncontrollable urge to use the toilet or bathe during such events.

The system cannot handle the extra flow, and like an insufficient electrical system blowing fuses, the insufficient sewage system blows a fuse which results in untreated sewage flowing into the Ohio River. Regulation of such overflows falls under the purview of the the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA's mandate is clear and this worthwhile agency does not allow much margin for error through either mismanagement, penury or stupidity.

Part of the proposed sewage rate increase facing the citizens of New Albany is intended to fix whatever leads to the overflows and keep the City in compliance with EPA regulations. Some of the projects proposed to make this fix are increasing the capacity of various drainage basins around the city. These are expensive fixes and can lead to rate increases.

Some of the problem can be fixed in a more direct manner.

A number of years ago the City did smoke tests to verify that downspouts and pumps were not hooked illegally to the sewage system. I have seen photos of recent smoke tests which show smoke percolating out of the front lawn of a house. That smoke is evidence of a source of inflow and infiltration, and that house along with all the other houses with the same problem are part of the reason why New Albany is on the EPA watch list, and thus subject to fines and further regulation.

Fixing the inflow and infiltration problem in private sewer lines to houses and businesses goes a long way toward alleviating the system problems in New Albany, which may cause rate increases and does cause some of the sewage backup problems plaguing some residents. Large system-main-lines are also subject to inflow and infiltration, and of course this element of the problem needs to be corrected too.

I suggest we begin a blitz in a systematic, comprehensive search for sources of inflow and infiltration through smoke testing. If EMC, the management company that runs the sewerage, doesn't have the personnel, they should hire the people needed for this project.

When violations are discovered, notify the homeowner of the illegality and give them so much time to correct the problem. If they have not corrected the problem or contracted the work to be done, add a surcharge to that sewer bill. The surcharge should be of sufficient heft to cause the problem to be fixed, perhaps $50 per month. The problem can be addressed, as I understand it, in two basic ways: the broken pipe can be dug up and replaced or it can be re-lined with some type of plastic liner ( a company called Insituform offers this ).

A significant number of citizens may not be able to afford such an unbudgeted expense and therefore should not be automatically penalized with the surcharge. For these people, a financing program needs to be in place where the problem can be fixed and the cost can be fronted by government and a reasonable monthly charge could be added to the sewer bill to pay back the cost of the repair. Each address that avails itself of this program financing would need to be tagged so that if and when the current resident sells or moves, the government-fronted costs will still be the responsibility of the owner of that address.

Local government should offer financing through a plan that works with New Albany's plumbers. If the citizens are going to bear the costs of these repairs, the money expended should stay in New Albany's businesses to employ more New Albany residents.

Individuals can pay to fix their own problems first, with assistance from government, or they can take the irresponsible route and allow their neighbors to pick up the tab through a no new fees stance. Is it possible that a systematic plan to attack this deficiency in our system could be seen as a good faith effort to comprehensively solve our EPA problems and forestall the rate increase no one wants?

To be sure, this modest suggestion is no panacea for the woes of the sewer system. I believe we waste the citizens' money by bearing the needless expense of profit exacted by the private enterprise sewer manager. The sewage system is a governmental undertaking and contrary to the notion that government should be run like a business, I believe the citizens own the system and the citizens owe no profit to private handlers. Let the citizens hold their elected officials accountable for the proper management of their system and keep that responsibility in local hands.