County officials begin work on sewage pollution problem

The pollution gets into Mosquito Lake, Warren's water source.
WARREN -- Trumbull County is starting to work on a sewage pollution problem that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency wants addressed in Bazetta Township.
Gary Newbrough, county sanitary engineer, said 85 percent of the 59 homeowners in the Lakeshore allotment petitioned in support of the sanitary sewer improvements.
"We've got a lot of pressure from the EPA," he said. "This is the first step along the way to getting this cleaned up."
Priority problem
For more than a decade, officials and residents have been aware that untreated waste from septic systems in the area has been draining into Mosquito Lake, which supplies Warren's water. The problem has put the area high on the EPA's list of trouble spots in Trumbull County.
In fact, the EPA has filed a lawsuit pinpointing Lakeshore as a mandated area that must be cleaned up, Newbrough noted.
The EPA has indicated it considers sewers of some kind the only long-term solution to pollution problems in Lakeshore and 23 other Trumbull County areas where septic systems are failing.
Bazetta trustees also have cited bringing sewers to the Lakeshore allotment and other parts of the township as a top priority.
Costly upgrades
Upgrading the homeowners' existing septic systems would cost about $15,000 per dwelling, Newbrough said. Many residents would rather pay an assessment for sewer service than pay for expensive septic system upgrades.
County commissioners are advertising for a qualified engineer to take on the job. Officials will decide which firm is most qualified and then negotiate a price.
Newbrough said it's expected to cost about $500,000 to run the sewers through the neighborhood and route them to an existing package plant on Sterling Drive. That plant then will need another $500,000 worth of upgrades, he said.