Knox County weighs a $607,000 sewer realignment and whether to build a local treatment plant

On Aug. 19, 2025, Jeff Pickrell briefed Knox County commissioners on the county's water and wastewater operations, outlining short-term repairs and longer-term options after recent power issues, equipment failures and evidence of inflow and infiltration (I&I) in older sewer lines.

Pickrell said crews recently cleaned accessible pump stations and have relied on standby generators at the Apple Valley pump station after repeated line-power voltage drops. "I choked on the electric bill; it was about 10 times higher than what it normally is," Pickrell said, adding that county staff have engaged AEP engineers and billing contacts to identify the problem. He said running on generator power has prevented pump trips since the switch.

The presentation moved from operations to capital needs. Pickrell identified a preliminary engineering estimate of about $607,000 to realign a main sewer line in a problem area and emphasized the groundwater table is high there, increasing the risk of ongoing infiltration. "If we fix the main lines and we don't fix their laterals, I can guarantee you their laterals are leaking too," Pickrell told commissioners, saying many laterals are old clay tile and that access is often blocked by fences and buildings.

To diagnose lateral conditions, Pickrell described a vendor camera that launches from the main line into homeowner laterals. He cited a per-lateral camera price of $520 and noted the example of 33 houses referenced in the engineering scoping; Pickrell said those diagnostic costs could be "on the order of tens of thousands of dollars" for an initial survey. He also said one company's minimums and additional work could drive more expensive bids.

Pickrell underscored that repairing laterals would generally require conventional digging where access exists and may be constrained in places where manholes or easements are obstructed. He warned that if the county spends to repair mains but homeowners do not repair laterals, I&I problems (and potential surcharges) could persist.

Staff described options for reducing the county's long-term costs: negotiate contract terms with the existing receiving plant (Centerburg/Delco), or build a county-owned local package treatment plant. A county official framed the trade-off plainly: building local treatment would require capital and debt service but could allow the county to capture customer revenue instead of paying a third party. Commissioners asked staff to provide ballpark capital and debt-service estimates.

Pickrell said a recently installed flow meter will be critical to the analysis: the county spent roughly $10,000 on parts and materials (excluding staff time) to place the vault and meter, which will generate daily flow data to inform negotiations about I&I charges and sizing for any new plant. He also noted a site-approval and permit process with Ohio EPA is required for a new well or a new treatment plant and highlighted that Ohio EPA wants a 300-foot wellhead protection radius that may include existing ball fields and restrict some land uses.

On funding for homeowner repairs, Pickrell said grant options are limited: staff investigated OPWC and other programs and learned that septic-system grants being discussed would not qualify to fix lateral connections to the public sewer. That leaves mostly low-interest lending or local assistance as options, he said.

Commissioners requested clearer cost estimates and a short list of financing scenarios. Pickrell said he would deliver the contract documents to county procurement staff, collect an additional price quote for lining or replacement, and rely on the new flow data to refine whether the county should pursue an in-house treatment plant or negotiate contract terms with neighboring utilities. The county did not adopt a policy or approve capital spending at the meeting; staff will return with further cost estimates and flow analysis.

Sources and attributions: Direct quotes and details come from Jeff Pickrell (presenter); other commissioners and staff asked clarifying questions during Pickrell's presentation. Numbers reported as estimates in the meeting (engineering, camera rates, repair totals) are described in the text as preliminary or approximate.