The City of Maumee, Ohio is no stranger to attention. Some of it is positive, like its 2024 title of America’s Strongest Town. Other spotlights, however, have been less welcome.
For instance, there’s the sewer problem, which is focusing a lot of attention on the city. On July 23, 2024, Maumee residents delivered petitions to force a referendum onto the November 2024 ballot to repeal an ordinance that puts the onus on individual property owners to have their sanitary and storm sewers inspected and to repair and/or separate their sanitary and storm sewer systems to mitigate inflow and infiltration (I/I) before they can sell their homes or businesses.
“No choice. Because I’m not going to not sell the house. And I hate to think I’m saying I’m the lucky one with $12,500 that I have to pay.”
While the city is offering some grant monies to offset individual property owners’ expenses for remediation, 13ABC News reported that Schumaker had to pay out of his own pocket to line the outdated clay piping in the easement area – where the city’s sidewalk is – that runs into the street and the city-maintained sewer lines. Other residents report receiving estimates in excess of $40,000 for similar remediation projects that they would have to pay before their homes could be sold.
Why Did Maumee Need a New Sewer Ordinance?
According to The Toledo Blade, the City of Maumee routinely reported that the town was not discharging sanitary sewer overflow into the Maumee River – for more than 24 years. “Those affirmations were manifestly untrue.”
The disclosure of the problem was self-reported by the city’s administrator, Patrick Burtch, who was hired in 2020. “We reported ourselves to the EPA and that’s what got the investigation going,” Burtch told The Blade.
The State of Ohio EPA fined the city and ordered the local government to “take all feasible steps to stop sanitary sewer overflows and basement wastewater backups.” The state is giving the city’s municipal wastewater managers 15 years to fix the problem, and a criminal investigation into the illegal sanitary sewer overflows is ongoing.
So, Maumee’s Mayor, Jim MacDonald, and its City Council devised a way to expedite mitigation while splitting costs with residents. Unlike most municipalities who have had similar issues, they didn’t raise sewer rates or pass a tax increase. Instead, the city passed an ordinance that, according to the Ohio EPA, is the first of its kind.
Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken told The Blade that the Ohio EPA “indicated [the Maumee ordinance] was unlike many others they’ve seen.”
The specific ordinance, Sanitary Sewer Inspection Ordinance 20-2024 Real Property Conveyance, has become a sore subject for residents, causing some to organize into a citizens’ action committee, who delivered the petitions to place the issue on the local ballot in November of 2024.
The city provides a PDF of the Ohio EPA’s findings, a list of approved sewer contractors, an application form, an explainer on how sanitary and storm sewer inflow and infiltration can be mitigated on individual properties, and even video of the recent contentious City Council meeting on the topic on their website.
Whatever the outcome of the city’s ordinance, Mayor MacDonald told residents on July 23, 2024 that “[T]he choices are limited for us. We must comply with what’s being asked of us [by Ohio EPA], and try to fix what we can.”
City officials issued a statement and apology to the community on July 26, 2024 while they work to come up with a new environmental plan.
How Video Pipe Inspection Helps Pinpoint I/I Issues
The fastest and most complete way to understand subsurface sanitary and storm sewer problems is with a video pipe inspection (VPI). Often referred to as a sewer scope, this NASSO-certified CCTV video inspection service puts robotic crawler and push cameras into sanitary and storm sewers to capture live video that details pipe material, whether the lines have been separated, and can find any obstructions, breaks, or defects.
GPRS, a national company based in Maumee, Ohio, provides NASSCO-certified video pipe inspection services and subsurface utility locating and mapping services that can map the entire wastewater system, and provide a detailed written, photo and video report. Our rapid response team of 500 Project Managers nationwide means we can provide sewer inspection and CCTV sewer scope services near you fast.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Inflow and Infiltration?
Inflow is the direct flow of storm water into a sewer system via improper connections like downspouts, sump pumps, or catch basins. Infiltration is what occurs when groundwater seeps into a sewer system through cracks, joints, or pipe defects. You can learn more about Inflow and Infiltration (I/I), here.
What is NASSCO?
NASSCO is the acronym for the National Association for Sewer Service Companies. The organization provides training in advanced non-destructive testing techniques and technologies, defect and damage reporting, and certifies sewer pipe inspectors nationally. All GPRS VPI project managers are NASSO-certified and SIM-certified (Subsurface Investigation Methodology) to provide customers with the most professional and accurate wastewater infrastructure reporting in the industry. Learn more about NASSCO and SIM, here.
