Leaky sewer line set for repair

MOUNT VERNON — Knox County Water and Wastewater superintendent Ron Simpson updated the board of commissioners Thursday morning on pending projects, including major activities in Apple Valley.

The repair of the leaking 18-inch sewer line, which runs beneath Apple Valley Lake, will take five days, starting on Nov. 30. The line is leaking lake water into the old and deteriorating pipe. Though initially rejected by the Ohio Public Works Commission as a candidate for emergency funding assistance from the state, the project remains top priority. The commissioners appealed the ruling on Nov. 9 and are waiting to hear from Mike Miller at the OPWC about the appeal.

Simpson said that the recently finished 500,000-gallon water storage tank for Apple Valley was filled up for the first time on Nov. 11, passing the initial bacteria tests. He said that technicians are currently adjusting the chlorine residual in the tank. Once that has reached optimal level, Simpson said that the new tank will go on-line as part of the water system for the huge development.

Also in Apple Valley, the Grand Ridge easement issue involving lot numbers 422 and 423 was settled by some legal research done by Assistant County Prosecutor Charles McConville. The issue, as reported previously in the News, was that a deck was built onto a house some years ago without realization that it had been built over a wastewater line laying within a county utilities easement. Since the property line is immediately adjacent to the deck, it wasn’t clear if the county would have to buy an easement from the neighbor in order to reroute the sewer line if repairs ever had to be made, or whether they would have to tear down the deck to make repairs, to which the property owner objected. McConville found that the county’s easement automatically transferred when the original property was split for sale, therefore the sewer line could be rerouted onto the neighboring property if repairs ever become necessary.

Water and sewer extension costs for the development adjacent to Apple Valley known as The Reserves was discussed, particularly concerning how new units in this development would be hooked up to the county water system, whether in separate lines or through one group tap. Further discussion was deferred until the point where the developers are ready to speak with the commissioners directly.

Simpson discussed the possibility of applying for funding just released by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee this week, with an application deadline of Nov. 30, under the Ohio Rural Water Act/2010 Water Resource Development Act. The commissioners agreed that they should look into it, even though the deadline is daunting.

Simpson also presented the commissioners with a certificate awarded to the county by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency “for efforts taken to protect the county’s sources of drinking water through the completion of a Drinking Water Source Protection Plan,” as the certificate stated.

The officials then went into executive session to discuss wage issues.