TRUMBULL COUNTY Policies would require replacing septic systems

People would pay for septic systems while waiting for sewer lines, officials say.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Under policies being considered by the Trumbull County Health Department, some homeowners will have to replace septic systems, even as plans are developed to bring sanitary sewers to their neighborhoods.
The approach is intended to quickly clean up areas where septic waste is getting into ditches, officials say.
The Ohio EPA has identified 14 "areas of concern" in Trumbull County where septic systems are failing. It takes at least three years of design work before a construction can begin on a sewer line project and officials say it will be decades before sewers are brought to all areas that need them.
"Somebody is going to be spending some money twice," said Pete Killmer of the EPA's Twinsburg office. "That is the nature of the beast."
For the most part, the septic problems are in areas where houses were built too closely together for the use of leech fields to absorb waste. Instead, homeowners rely on systems that discharge treated waste into ditches.
These systems are prone to failure, officials say. A new model can cost $15,000, and homeowners have no assurance that the new system will put them in compliance with clean-water regulations.
County health officials plan to require residents in problem areas that are less then 18 months from being hooked up to sewers to add chlorinators to their septic systems and have tanks pumped every six months.
If sewers are still five years away, they will be told to add additional treatment devices, said Frank Migliozzi, the health department's director of environmental health.
If the sewer line is 10 years away, they will be told to install even more equipment.
Longer than that, and a whole new system will be called for, he said.
At meetings with residents of problem areas, health department officials will suggest they circulate petitions requesting sewer lines, Migliozzi said.
The sanitary engineer prefers to have signatures from 80 percent of property owners before starting design work on a sewer line project, because many people withdraw support after learning that they will be assessed the cost, said assistant sanitary engineer Rex Fee.
siff@vindy.com