By DAVID A. MANN
Jeffersonville residents who have yet to connect to the city’s sewer service will probably make the connection in next the three years or so.
As the city moves forward with annexation — both last year’s and another expected to take effect in January — expansion of the sewer system is continuing.
Indiana statute allows a city to force those residents with a sewer line within 300 feet of their property line to hook onto the system.
“So basically if we run a sewer line, we can make them connect,” said Larry Thomas, the city’s communications director.
And, as the lines are being built within areas annexed into the city last year, letters are being sent informing residents that they have 90 days to hook on.
“We’re preparing plans to sewer all the areas that were annexed,” said Jorge Lanz, engineer with the firm Jacobi, Toombs and Lanz.
“We try to take the easy ones first,” he said, noting that the lay of the land and the number of homes in an area are being considered.
All totaled, Lanz said, it’s approximately a $7 million effort to bring sewer to the areas. Mayor Tom Galligan said that so far about $1 million of that has been spent on the expansion.
Sewer projects are occurring along Utica-Sellersburg Road, Evergreen subdivision and Shungate Road, near Watson, the mayor said.
Homes east of the current city limits, that are not already a part of the Oak Park Conservancy District sewer system, are being surveyed for service currently, Galligan said.
“We have to provide sewer because we provide sewer in [the old part of] the city,” he said. “When you annex something you have to provide all the services.”
When asked about it, Galligan said residents hadn’t been upset about the expansion. And he said the city has been flexible with residents in areas where sewer projects are taking place.
“In Evergreen, we turned it loose in November. It was all bad weather and trying to get sewers in 90 days it would have been through December, January and February, which are terrible months.
“We let them hook on, and they had to be done by the end of the [next] year. That gave everybody time to get their money together and get everything arranged.”
When residents hook onto the system, they have to pay a sewer tap-in fee of $1,525. Furthermore, they have to pay a licensed plumber or contractor to run a line between their home and the sewer line that the city installs under the street.
That cost depends on the contractor and how far the home is from the sewer line. Galligan said in the worst cases it could cost a homeowner as much as $6,000.
The city is offering payment programs for those unable to pay the tap-in fee in one lump sum. However, they’re on their own when it comes to the contractor costs.
After hooking onto the system, residents will then begin paying monthly sewer bills.
Right now, the average bill is around $23 per month, according to Thomas. However, they’re expected to double with in the next few months because of a recent agreement between the city and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
For decades, the city has been violating U.S. Clean Water Act laws by allowing diluted sewage to flow into the Ohio River with what are known as combined sewer overflows.
Under the EPA agreement, known as a consent decree, the city’s plan to correct those problems is financed by sewer rate increases.
Galligan cites environmental reasons when asked about the importance of the sewer expansion.
“Septic tanks are one of the biggest polluters that you have. And it’s a stronger cocktail of E. Coli and bacteria than it is when you dilute it.”
Septic tanks contribute to what the EPA refers to as non-point pollution.
Jeffersonville accounts for 12 percent of the pollution in the Ohio River, according to the EPA. Louisville is 50 percent.
The remaining 38 percent, said Galligan, is non-point sources: Septic tanks, farms, wildlife and even domesticated dogs that leave feces on the ground.
“Septic can be a viable option, but in some cases sewers is preferred,” said Amber Finkelstein, spokesperson for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
In order for septic systems to be viable the groundwater table, soil type, lot size, population density and maintenance has to be considered, she said.
Doug Bentfield, registered environmental health specialist with the Clark County Health Department, said septic systems can be difficult to work with once they fail.
The department is typically called into an area once neighbors file complaint about a leaking septic system.
He argues that while sewer tap-in fees are burdensome, they’re at least a one-time expense.
“If you put in septic, then it fails 10 years later. You have to worry about it then,” he said.
He also notes that septic can limit property usage because they take up so much space and owners cannot build on the surface above them.
