Sanitary Sewer Separation Project
Historical Perspective: Although the City did separate sanitary and storm sewers in the 80’s and 90’s, it failed to eliminate regulators that continually served as a connection between the storm and sanitary sewers. The City also failed to fully recognize the true impact of private property footer drains and leaking clay sanitary sewer leads that connect to the City’s sanitary sewer mains.
As a result, multiple pumps were used to manage the situation by dumping raw sewage into the City’s stormwater system. City staff also manually discharged sewage directly from the Birch Street pump station into the river. Furthermore, City staff failed to report the illegal actions and actively authored multiple reports stating that few if any events had happened even though clear actions were taken to pump active sewage into the river for decades. However, that reporting never happened, and discharges continued without proper permits and reporting. These false actions were also reported to the EPA in July 2020.
As a result of self-reporting the violation, the state issued a “Director’s Findings and Orders” requiring the City of Maumee to stop illegally discharging sewage into the Maumee River. It also stipulates and requires massive testing and study of the problem.
In December 2021, the City of Maumee approved a nearly $900,000 contract Stantec, a global engineering firm specializing in consulting and engineering services, to study the city’s sewer system. Immediate work also began to repair, reline, and replace sewer lines on streets and alleys and, several catch basins in commercial parking lots that were incorrectly tied to the sanitary system were corrected.
Mandates by the EPA have also required the following action:
1. Sewer Evaluation Study: Specifies major tasks associated with further authoring a Sewer System Evaluation Study (“SSES”)
2. Public Notification Plan: Inform the public of all sanitary overflow locations, signs, postings, and inserts as applicable. This plan remains ongoing.
3. Emergency Response Plan: Develop procedures for emergency response to surcharge events.
4. Capacity, Management, Operation, and Maintenance Program: Mitigate and stop sanitary overflows as soon as possible for all parts of the sanitary collection system. This program remains ongoing.
5. Sewer System Evaluation Study (“SSES”): Identify sources and quantities of clear water infiltration and inflow (“I & I”) entering the sanitary sewer system and identifies all feasible, cost-effective actions needed to eliminate or minimize excessive I&I entering the sanitary sewer system that causes or contributes to sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) and water in basements.
The 2024 SSES report has been uploaded to OEPA. You can view/download the file here:
Sustainable Solutions: The Proposal to Eliminate Sanitary Sewer Overflows
The newest plan to resolve Maumee’s sanitary sewer issues will cover essential public and private repairs, with funding provided from the existing rate structure.
The Sanitary Sewer Overflow Group consisting of city staff, council members, along with the Citizens of Maumee Action Committee (CMAC) leadership team, developed the proposal.
The updated plan does not include additional fees to cover the cost of the work. A previous proposal called for a $12 monthly fee to pay for the needed repairs on private property, but a drop in interest rates from 2.86 percent to 2.43 saved the city approximately $6 to $8 million over the 30-year loan, allowing the city to eliminate the need for a fee.
With the new proposal, the city will spend approximately $81.2 million to line the sewer main lines and laterals on private property and $20 million will be offered through grants and loans to residents to repair footer tiles, downspouts, and sump pumps. Work on those projects will begin in February 2025.
An additional $20 million will be allocated to lining projects in 2030 in the areas west of Key Street and north of the former St. Luke’s Hospital. That work would include lining the sewer main and laterals on private properties.
Data indicates that a substantial amount of inflow and infiltration in the city’s sanitary system comes from private laterals, footer drains, downspouts, and sump pumps on residential properties. The work will also target commercial structures in the historic district, under 15,000 square feet, which have also been identified as having improper connections or consisting of damaged or deteriorating materials.
To assist property owners and investors with residential properties or commercial buildings in greatest need, the city is offering to fund private sewer repairs. Property owners with combined household incomes ranging from $79,217 or less to $198,042 will be eligible for a 100 percent grant in the program’s first year (2025). Higher income earners, or those making more than $198,042, will receive a grant of up to 80 percent in the first year. In subsequent years, the grant money will shift to a sliding scale, with homeowners contributing a greater portion of the cost each year. A low-interest loan will also be available, however, to cover those costs.
The city nominated our community for $81.2 million in funds from the Ohio EPA for a water pollution control revolving low-interest loan to cover the sanitary sewer lining work.
The portion of the plan that calls for using public funds for work on private property is contingent on court approval. Maumee Finance and Economic Development Committee endorsed the plan, which council approved at the November 18 meeting. In addition, council approved legislation declaring damaged laterals a nuisance, which the committee also endorsed. The action is necessary to support using public funds for that work.
These are the final ‘Findings and Orders” provided by the Ohio EPA.
Citizen Questions & Concerns:
We thank the citizens of Maumee who are engaged and asking questions by attending the city-hosted roundtable discussions, which began July 31 and will continue through August 29. Residents also attended meetings hosted by Maumee Council Member Phil Leinbach.
Hundreds have participated in these discussions and the input from attendees has been compiled and carefully reviewed.
To view citizen questions and answers click here:
To view the suggestions that citizens have brought forward to address the issue click here:
In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck Marohn addresses the issue facing Maumee as he explains the history of sewer infrastructure, how the Clean Water Act affects cities and the very limited options that cities have to handle this kind of challenge. He also points out that the Strongest Town Contest is about celebrating cities that are working hard to improve, rather than finding cities that are perfect. Just because Maumee is facing this challenge does not mean that it’s a failure — and it’s not alone in this struggle, either. All cities are either facing this challenge, too, or will be facing it in the near future. That’s the consequence of decades of unproductive growth.
The heat map above indicates areas of inflow and infiltration in the sanitary sewer system, with the highest area in red. This information is based on data collected from flow meters provided to Maumee by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
Sewer Inspection Registration
Once you complete this registration, the City will reach out to schedule your sewer inspection.