MAHONING COUNTY Sewage system repairs done

The project was completed for much less than the estimated cost, officials said.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- After years of being swamped by orders to fix their faulty sewage system, Mahoning County and Struthers are in the clear.
More than five years ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered the entities to either repair or replace their shared sewage system by March 1 or face huge penalties, Struthers Mayor Dan Mamula said.
A consultant estimated the cost of overhauling the system at $21 million, said Joseph Warino, county sanitary engineer.
Cheaper alternatives: Not wanting to stick users with absorbing the cost of such an expensive upgrade, officials looked for a better way, made the necessary repairs for $3 million and got them done on time, Warino said.
"It's certainly something we're proud of," he said. Mamula and Warino were to update county commissioners on the project this morning.
The county pays 64 percent of the cost of operating and maintaining a sewage treatment plant in Struthers, Warino said. The county shares the cost because it pumps sewage from rural users in surrounding townships to the city's plant.
Problems developed about eight years ago when city residents complained of their basements flooding during moderate to heavy rain, Mamula said. That's what led to the government's mandate to fix the system.
"In dry weather we were okay, but when it rained we just pegged off the charts," Mamula said.
What would happen: The main problem was that clearwater from rainstorms was leaking from storm sewers into the sanitary sewer system, causing it to overflow, Mamula said. Removing the clearwater from the system was the top order from the EPA, he said.
Rather than replace the entire system, workers pumped smoke through the lines to detect where they were leaking and repaired only the faulty sections, Warino said. That's what helped keep the cost so low.
"We may have removed as much as 10 million gallons of clearwater from the system during high flow times," Mamula said. "It's a huge improvement."
Mamula said two city employees now work part-time cleaning catch basins, keeping them from getting backed up during heavy rains.
The city and county were also required to eliminate all sewage overflow from rivers and streams, which has been done, Mamula and Warino said. Sewage that once overflowed from a retention basin at the waste treatment plant into Panther Creek now is channeled through the treatment process at the plant, he said.