Chief engineer proposes new, $1.4M sewer plant

The plant would replace small plants that serve four county buildings.

By D.A. WILKINSON

VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU

LISBON — Columbiana County Engineer Bert Dawson wants to build a $1.4 million sewer plant to serve four county facilities in Center Township.

Dawson told the county commissioners Wednesday that the four buildings are now served by three small and aging systems.

The plant would serve the county jail and the Louis Tobin Attention Center for juveniles. It would also serve the Robert Bycroft School and Sheltered Workshop operated by the Columbiana County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.

The buildings are on or near County Home Road.

The engineer said the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency wants to update the small waste plants that serve the buildings.

Dawson said he did a study that showed building a large facility to serve all four structures is more cost effective than trying to build small plants for each facility or repairing the old ones. Another, more costly option, was to pump the waste to the county’s sewer plant at Guilford Lake.

The engineer said he spoke to officials from the county offices about the cost. “The question, is who would be responsible for what portion,” Dawson said.

If everything goes smoothly, the plant could be completed in 18 to 24 months. The plant would located just west of the jail.

High-maintenance filters

The OEPA hasn’t issued an order to the county. But some of the old plants have sand filters that require high maintenance. The facilities now use well water. The hard water corrodes fixtures and pipes at the facilities, the commissioners said.

The commissioners have long wanted to get Salem water to the facilities. The city’s reservoir is about two miles from the area.

But the commissioners and the Buckeye Water District are in a stalemate with Salem’s utilities commission. The county and the district claim they have rights to install water lines in the incorporated areas, including Center Township. Salem officials have indicated they may have the right to provide water in Center Township, since the city has some customers in the area.

wilkinson@vindy.com