MAHONING COUNTY Health board moves to get sewers in Petersburg

The Petersburg phase of the project is expected to begin after July 1.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR HEALTH REPORTER
AUSTINTOWN -- A sanitary-sewer project is in the works that will allow residents with household sewage disposal systems in Petersburg and New Springfield to flush their toilets and not have bacteria from fecal matter end up in their drinking water wells.
The Mahoning County Health Board has declared portions of the Petersburg area a health nuisance because of water pollution, a key step in getting financing for sanitary sewers for those areas, said Matthew Stefanak, county health commissioner.
The board took the action Thursday, giving county Sanitary Engineer Joseph Warino additional ammunition when seeking grants for the $2.7 million needed for the Petersburg Phase 1 part of the project.
At a later date, Stefanak said, the board likely will be asked to pass a similar motion for New Springfield, which is phase two of the project, the estimated cost of which is $1.58 million. The total project cost is $4.28 million.
The sewers will be financed without assessing property owners. Depending on income levels, some residents may not even have to pay tap-in fees for the lines from the main line to their homes, Stefanak added.
The Petersburg phase is expected to get under way after July 1 when funding is available, Stefanak said.
What's involved
The Petersburg project consists of a collection system and a pump station that will move the sewage to a treatment plant in New Middletown, which is operating at only 40 percent capacity, Stefanak said.
The Petersburg Phase area is from Honey Creek south on state Route 170, then south on state Route 617 to the Columbiana County line, west along the county line to Hofmeister Road, then east on East Garfield Road to Petersburg, including all side streets.
The health board's motion was based on a study of the area which found "extremely high levels of fecal coliform bacteria in ditch and stream samples, high rates of failing septic systems, unsafe drinking water wells, nuisance complaints, and heavy reliance on off-lot discharging systems flowing into Honey Creek."
Sources of funding
Stefanak said funding sources include the Mahoning County Solid Waste Management District, $300,000; Springfield Township trustees, $100,000; Springfield Township county sales tax allocation, $108,572; and Mahoning County Community Development Block Grant program, $100,000.
Stefanak said the health district is confident it will be able to use local funds to attract money from the Ohio Department of Development, the Ohio Public Works Commission's State Issue 2 program, and possibly from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In the 1970s, township residents opposed construction of a sewer system because of the cost. In 2000, however, Springfield trustees asked the county health district and county sanitary engineer to investigate wastewater problems in Petersburg and revisit the feasibility of a sewer system, Stefanak said.