Knox County water director warns of high ‘inflow and infiltration,’ outlines well, generator and admin‑building plans

Jeff Paper, director of the Knox County Water and Wastewater Department, told the Board of Commissioners on March 17 that heavy rains and worn infrastructure have driven a marked increase in "inflow and infiltration" (INI) into the sewer system, raising treatment volumes by roughly one million gallons compared with winter months.

Paper said the county sees INI in multiple forms — surface runoff entering manholes, cracked or leaking sewer pipes on either the homeowner or county side, and illegal connections such as downspouts or sump pumps tied into sanitary sewers. "It is illegal per Ohio EPA to have clean water connections," he said, adding that some sump pumps are difficult to detect during CCTV inspections but will be required to be disconnected when found.

Why it matters: higher INI raises pumping and treatment costs and can overload small package plants. Paper said recent camera work and line repairs in Harbor View and other small systems have reduced INI in places, but other sections — notably the PVA gravity line feeding the newer wastewater plant — continue to carry more clean water than anticipated, although he said the plant remains within permit limits.

Paper outlined near‑term capital work and financing plans. He said drilling for well No. 7 was delayed because materials did not arrive on schedule but that crews expect to begin the initial phase soon. The well project is phased: drilling and sampling, pump testing and an Ohio EPA PTI (permit to install), then bidding for surface work (piping, electrical and connections). Paper estimated the well’s cost at "between 7 and 800,000" and said the first phase will come from the department budget while later construction will be financed.

For the larger financing plan, staff said the county aims to use the Ohio Water Development Authority (OWDA) for low‑interest loans for the new well and the planned administration building that will centralize office and billing staff near Apple Valley. Paper said OWDA financing was judged quicker and more flexible than other state or bond options: "With OWDA, we can borrow what we need when the project is done rather than borrowing a larger amount up front," he said.

Paper also described equipment and reliability investments. He credited an ARPA-funded project that installed 26 generators at pump stations — and automatic transfer switchgear and alarm systems — with preventing overflows and emergency work during a recent multi‑day outage. "We would have really struggled to try to keep up," he said, noting that without the generators crews would have needed to haul mobile units and risked sewer backups into homes or the lake.

Operational needs and costs surfaced elsewhere in the update. Paper said digesters at treatment plants require attention because grit and debris from INI create maintenance headaches for centrifuges and pumps. He also reported persistent system water loss: operations staff estimate current loss near 40%, down from earlier levels as high as about 60% after recent fixes, and said crews will continue targeted leak detection and walking the system to locate losses that occur before the meter or in frozen meter pits.

Paper asked commissioners to consider a site tour of the wastewater plant, wellfield and PVA facility to see operations and maintenance needs firsthand. He also reported that the administration building engineering drawings are back and that staff hope to put that project out to bid by the end of March.

Next steps: drilling for well No. 7 is expected to start once materials arrive and the department will continue OWDA application work; staff will return with bid documents and financing terms as the projects advance.