Bexley council hears sewer I&I briefing; private laterals, lining pace flagged as key constraints

BEXLEY, Ohio — City staff on Feb. 10 gave council members a technical briefing on inflow and infiltration (I&I) in the Bexley sanitary system, outlining measurement methods, recent findings and tradeoffs for repair strategies.

The presentation, the second installment in a multi‑part sewer series, introduced a two‑page “cheat sheet” explaining acronyms, condition summaries and a proposed study timeline, then walked through diagrams, flow‑meter graphs and field‑testing methods used to locate sources of stormwater entering sanitary pipes.

Why it matters: staff said excess stormwater in sanitary lines increases the risk of sanitary sewer overflows, raises treatment cost, and contributes to basement backups during large storms. Council was told that the city’s flow‑meter average is about 350 gallons per capita per day (GPCD) compared with an EPA baseline cited as 275 GPCD, a gap that signals elevated wet‑weather loading.

How staff measure it: the city uses permanent flow meters (four currently installed) and event graphs that show spikes during rain. As Megan, a city staffer, told council, “So the first page is really just meant to help you understand all of the acronyms that get thrown around when you talk about sewers.” A presenter added that the meters allow analysts to “calculate how much total water has gotten through the pipe” and to distinguish short‑term inflow from long‑term infiltration.

Repair strategy tradeoffs: staff emphasized cured‑in‑place pipe (CIPP) lining as the city’s main approach, noting the method has been in use locally since about 2010. Lining is less disruptive and more cost‑effective than excavating and replacing pipe. Presenters gave system totals — roughly 35,000 linear feet lined and about 2,000 linear feet replaced — and said that since 2005 the city has lined under 17% of the system; since about 2015 lining work has cost on the order of $4.1 million.

Private vs. public responsibility: staff repeatedly highlighted that private laterals — the pipes from houses to the public main — are a major source of I&I. Presenters told council that private laterals may account for roughly 50–60% of the problem, creating a policy choice: pay to extend lining or replacement to private property, create loan programs, or use other incentives. As staff put it, lining the public mainlines alone will fix a percentage of the problem but not all of it.

Field methods and priority setting: council heard why smoke and dye testing remain important tools to trace connections between storm and sanitary systems, and how hydraulic modeling that includes house elevations helps predict which properties are most susceptible to basement flooding. Staff said the current approach is to prioritize basins and validate results with flow‑meter data before moving to capital projects.

Next steps: staff said a new study will refine which basins to target, help design a capital improvement plan and inform funding models — including whether new revenue sources or loan programs are needed. No formal action or vote on funding for the next study took place at the meeting; staff asked council for continued guidance as the study scope and priorities are finalized.

Sources: city staff presentation to Bexley City Council, Feb. 10, 2026 (staff: Megan; presenters and consultants).