Williams County commissioners debate sewer policy, rates after rise in campers using county system

WILLIAMS COUNTY, Ohio — Williams County engineering staff told the county commissioners on July 1 that the county needs to update its sewer policy and rate structure after growing instances of campers and recreational vehicles being placed on private lots and in mobile-home parks and connecting — directly or indirectly — to county sewers.

Todd Roth of the Williams County engineering department said he would lead an interagency conversation to clarify whether campers must connect to the county system, how they should be charged and which jurisdictions or agencies should enforce rules. "I haven't done it, and it's time for me to give it a 100% and truly bring it to the front," Roth said.

Why it matters: Commissioners and staff said the county's regulations are dated and inconsistent and that unresolved rules could shift costs or public‑health responsibilities among townships, the health department, the planning commission and the county. Commissioners said they want a coordinated approach so sewer customers pay fairly and the county can maintain system service levels.

Roth told the commissioners that the county's written rules date back to the 1990s and that, although related subdistrict regulations were consolidated in 2011, the county never published a single, updated policy manual. Under the county's current billing framework, one residential equivalent unit (REU) equals $50. Mobile‑home park units are charged at three‑quarters (0.75) of an REU because the county typically does not maintain lines inside parks; a freestanding mobile home is treated as 1 REU. For parks and camps with full sanitary hookups the county currently uses 0.313 REU per space; trailer or tent spaces without a hookup are shown in county materials as 0.125 REU.

Roth said the county also reviewed EPA design guidance used for system planning: a one‑bedroom design value of roughly 120 gallons per day, a three‑bedroom value near 360 gallons per day, and a design figure of about 300 gallons per day for a mobile home. He used those figures to argue that units used as habitual residences should be treated as users for billing and capacity calculations.

Commissioners and staff flagged a set of open questions Roth said the work session should resolve: whether to charge by spaces available or by occupied spaces (for example, a January 1 snapshot for an annual charge); how to treat short‑term or seasonal uses versus year‑round occupancy; whether indirect connections (for example, dumping through a cleanout) should be treated as use; and how to set or change dump‑station rates (Roth cited a local Flying J truck stop as an example of a facility that provides dumping services).

Multiple county officials said enforcement is complicated in unzoned parts of the county. "We're not zoned in the county," Roth said; that reality, he added, makes local enforcement harder and will require coordination with township trustees, the health department and the planning commission. Commissioners suggested the planning commission could host a multi‑agency meeting and noted a township trustee meeting set for August as a possible venue for discussion with local trustees.

No ordinance or rate change was adopted at the July 1 meeting. Instead, commissioners and staff agreed to schedule a formal review: Roth will assemble the relevant parties and lead the sewer‑policy review, with the goal of producing a recommendation that could be implemented next year if adopted. Commissioners emphasized fairness in billing and the need to clarify maintenance responsibility where the county does or does not maintain lines.

The discussion on sewer policy followed other agenda business that included a supplemental appropriations item and grant‑related approvals. At the July 1 meeting the board also approved minutes from a prior session and recorded roll calls on several agenda resolutions unrelated to sewer policy.