Lou McMahon, a consultant working with local partners, told the Lorain County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 26 that a multi‑year effort is readying a petition under Ohio Revised Code 6119 to form a regional sewer district the presenters call the Central Lake Erie Regional Water Reclamation District, or "Clearwater." McMahon said Clearwater would be a wholesale entity focused on regional conveyance and treatment, not retail sewer collection.

McMahon said the three initial partners are Lorain County, Avon Lake and Lorco, and that Clearwater would lease the Avon Lake treatment plant and contract with Avon Lake to operate it. "Clearwater will lease the Avon Lake plant, and then contract with Avon Lake to operate that plant," McMahon said. He added the plan is structured so no Avon Lake plant employees would lose jobs as a result.

The presenters told the commissioners the district would treat wastewater now sent to Avon Lake, take on associated debt and buy assets such as Lorco transmission lines and pump stations. McMahon said a Raftelis fiscal study showed Clearwater would be financially viable on conservative assumptions and that the entity would not raise treatment rates beyond Avon Lake's planned increases: "We made conservative assumptions ... Clearwater will not raise rates for any users on the treatment side of things other than what Avon Lake was projecting to raise rates," he said.

Why it matters: McMahon and partners said establishing Clearwater could improve water quality, reduce redundant small package plants, increase regulatory resilience for upcoming nutrient and PFAS rules, and support economic development in East Lorain County by providing reliable treatment capacity.

How it would work: presenters described a three‑member initial board of trustees (the county administrator, the executive director of Lorco, and Avon Lake's chief of utilities) with staggered terms; thereafter each partner would appoint trustees. Territory for the district would include Avon Lake's municipal boundaries and the Lorco Phase 1 facilities planning area, and it would include a small county package plant at Eden Estates, officials said. The district would be empowered for regional master planning and could later expand by court approval.

Next steps and public process: McMahon said the petition and a draft plan of operation will be posted for public review, followed by a petitioner‑led public hearing with two weeks' notice, comment, possible revisions to the petition, and then filing with the court. "You have to act to declare yourself a petitioner by resolution," McMahon said; he told commissioners a resolution to make Lorain County a petitioner has been introduced and was expected to be considered at the Friday meeting. He said a joint public meeting with Avon Lake is expected in mid‑October, with filing to follow "probably in early November" and then a court hearing.

Questions and local context: commissioners and members of the public asked about timing, hearing location and operations. McMahon said the process is exacting because it creates a new governmental entity under ORC 6119 and emphasized the team had spent two years preparing drafts, financial models and outreach materials. He noted that the All Ohio Future Fund previously awarded $67.4 million for separate West Side infrastructure work and that the Clearwater proposal is legally separate but aimed at complementary economic goals.

What Clearwater would not do: presenters said Clearwater would not provide drinking water or retail sewer connections, nor would it take on stormwater responsibilities without further court approval. They said the immediate focus is centralized treatment and regional conveyance to the Avon Lake plant.

Public participation: the presenters said documents (draft petition, plan of operation, background materials and FAQs) will be posted to a project website and that the partners want broad public comment before filing the petition with the court.