Trustees seek details about sewer capacity

Trustees want clarity on the issues.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Utility officials say a development at the former sod farm on Western Reserve Road here would not be a great burden on waste treatment and electrical services.
Last week, township trustees delayed ruling on a zone change on the sod farm property that would allow a large, single-family housing development to be built at the site until the developer can provide information on storm water management and sanitary sewer capacity.
Some residents expressed concerns about the electrical supply to the proposed development.
MOS Development plans to place more than 400 homes on a section of the former farm. Company representatives have said there will also be baseball fields, soccer fields, other play areas and a walking trail.
Township trustees want assurance that the Parkside Drive waste treatment facility, which would treat water from the development, can handle the increase.
Adding to trustees' concerns are two Canfield planned unit developments that will filter water to the same treatment facility.
Another site
The Westford Centre development on Route 224 is slated to include about 200 single-family homes; 200 condominiums and villas; a supermarket; 15 to 20 stores; an 18-hole, par-71 golf course; a 150-room hotel and conference center; an outpatient surgery center; an assisted-living facility for seniors; and four office buildings.
Dave Morrison, Canfield zoning inspector, said another PUD in Canfield will include 30 acres. No official plans have been drawn, he said, but developers can fit a maximum of 150 homes on the 30 acres.
Joseph Warino, Mahoning County sanitary engineer, said the Parkside Drive facility can handle the additional water from all three developments.
"We are confident in the fact that, under current conditions, the facility will be able to handle that flow," he said.
The three developments, however, may take the treatment facility close to its current maximum allowable capacity.
According to Warino, the Parkside Drive facility is approved to handle 5 1/2 million gallons of water daily. The facility now handles about 5 million gallons of water. There is now room in the system, he said, to handle water from about 1,250 more homes or 500,000 gallons.
The three developments combined will have between 800 and 950 new homes. Then there are the stores, hotel, office buildings and senior citizens complex to consider.
What's being done
Boardman township officials have also said more development may be seen in the southern end of the township. Some water from any future development may be filtered to the Parkside Drive facility.
Warino said county officials have prepared a study to present to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in hopes of increasing the Parkside Drive facility's maximum allowable capacity to 6 million gallons per day. That increase in capacity would mean the system could handle flow from about 1,250 homes, based on a calculation of 400 gallons per house per day.
Should the EPA reject the increase in capacity, Warino said, all development would be considered on a case-by-case basis until capacity is reached. When capacity is reached, he said, there would have to be an expansion or no more permits could be issued, but he does not see that happening.
Paul Harkey, Ohio Edison area manager, said there is more than enough electricity, under current conditions, to supply the proposed development on the former sod farm.
Harkey said a substation at the southwest corner of Tippecanoe and Western Reserve Road, on land owned by Ohio Edison, has been in the plans for years. He said the substation is not needed for the development, but in anticipation of business growth in the surrounding area.
jgoodwin@vindy.com