Sewer water, not manure source of pollution

MONTEZUMA - Sewer water from a campground - not manure - was the source of an Aug. 26 pollution complaint to Mercer County soil and water officials.
  Soil and water board members reviewed the complaint from the south side of Grand Lake during their meeting Thursday.

Soil and Water Conservation District Technician Matt Heckler told board members the office received a complaint of black water and toilet paper coming from a manhole near the walking bridge at Prairie Creek along state Route 219. Upon visiting the site, soil and water officials found sewer water and toilet paper in a nearby ditch, he said.
  Photos Heckler distributed during the meeting showed pieces of dried toilet paper stuck to the top of the vented manhole cover. Storm water apparently overloaded a sanitary sewer line and caused the water to pour out of the manhole and into the ditch, he explained.

People with campers, mobile home trailers and manufactured homes at campgrounds around the lake can legally release sewer water into tile outlets built into the ground, SWCD Engineer Theresa Dirksen said. However, incompletely sealed tops on many of the tile outlets allow surface water to enter the sanitary sewer line during heavy rain events, she said.

Many of the tile outlets viewed by SWCD officials at several campgrounds in the area had gaps around the pipes entering them. In addition, many unused tile outlets had no caps, she said.

"So when there is too much rain or standing water, water gets into the tile outlets and overloads the sanitary sewer system and pushes water up through the manhole," Dirksen said.

Heckler said the SWCD office contacted the Mercer County-Celina City Health Department, which has jurisdiction over campground sanitary sewer systems; the Mercer County Solid Waste Management District, which maintains the county's sanitary sewer system; and the Ohio Manufactured Homes Commission.

Dirksen said keeping surface water from entering the sanitary sewer lines would help the situation. Heckler said county sanitary sewer officials replaced the manhole's vented lid with a solid one to keep backed-up sewage from escaping.

Kent Hinton, director of wastewater for the county, said sanitary sewer officials on Thursday installed a larger pump at a nearby station to try to move more water through the sanitary sewer line more quickly to alleviate overloading.

Hinton said heavy rains on the south side of the lake preceded the Aug. 26 complaint. He agreed that gaps around outlets and uncapped outlets could contribute to overloading.

"Yes, the gaps can contribute," he said. "It's a strong possibility that this is happening."

Michelle Kimmel, the county's director of environmental health, said she contacted the state health department to see if the local health department can take any action. The Ohio administrative code regarding connections to tile outlets is vague, she said.

"We've put an email out to the Ohio Department of Health ... on what their opinion is," she said. "There is nothing in the code on campground rules that says all connections into sewer lines must be watertight. We enforce rules on behalf of the state so we called the state to see if this scenario is in violation."

Kimmel said she has not heard back yet from state health department officials.

The county health department licenses about 10 campgrounds for sanitary sewer compliance on the lake's south side, she said.

Dirksen and Heckler said the SWCD office has received several invalid pollution complaints in the same area since 2007 that callers attributed to manure from a nearby farm.

"We've had several complaints on a farming operation in that area about black water and odor," Dirksen said. "We and NRCS and ODNR have been all over that farm and can't find anything. Maybe this was the culprit all along."

Heckler agreed, saying the situation needs to be addressed.

"From our standpoint there is no difference between this and a farmer who is discharging manure," he said. "We'll keep working with the sanitary sewer department, health department and Ohio Manufactured Homes Commission. We want to make sure it gets addressed."

SWCD board members on Thursday also,

• authorized Nikki Hawk, Mercer SWCD education specialist/district administrator to buy shirts for eight SWCD staff and board members at a cost of $50 each.

• scheduled the next SWCD meeting for 8:30 a.m. Oct. 9.