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Howard County launches funded study and interim oversight for failing Devon Woods wastewater system
Summary
The stormwater board agreed to fund a BCS Management assessment and interim licensed operator for the privately owned Devon Woods wastewater plant, creating a revolving Stormwater Capital Project Fund to frontload study costs and avoid regulatory enforcement by IDEM.
Howard County officials on Monday authorized a county-funded assessment and immediate interim oversight of the failing Devon Woods wastewater system and approved a master services agreement with BCS Management and Taylor Regional Sewer District to begin work as soon as next week.
Lana Bergazi, owner of BCS Management, told the Stormwater District that her firm was retained to evaluate and stabilize failing small wastewater utilities; BCS proposed a 60–90 day scope to assess Devon Woods’ assets, identify immediate critical repairs and develop a cost-effective long-term plan that could include transferring operations to the Taylor Regional Sewer District or other options.
BCS team member Mr. Keller reported that site inspections found a clarifier pond possibly deeper than six feet, a downed perimeter fence that allows public access, and general operational neglect. "If that breaks, you'd have raw sewage going into the pond and then that ends up in the creek," he told the board, and he said restoring security, paying delinquent power bills and installing an interim licensed operator were immediate priorities.
Consultants said the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) already has identified required corrections during prior inspections and could pursue enforcement, daily fines or receiver-ship (court-ordered transfer to a competent utility) if the plant is not corrected. Consultants described receiver-ship as costly and time-consuming and said county-led remediation would be preferable to forced legal remedies.
County staff and commissioners described a new Stormwater Management Capital Project Fund, seeded with stormwater district dollars and additional county contributions, to frontload the cost of studies and designs as a revolving loan. The idea is to fund initial assessment work locally and then recover those funds through later construction grants, loan repayments or contractual reimbursements so the fund can be used in other small communities with failing systems.
Residents at the meeting raised operational and billing concerns: several people said they had not received consistent bills or were uncertain whether their homes are connected; some neighbors pooled money to pay the plant’s overdue electric bill. BCS and county staff said the assessment will identify who is connected, what immediate fixes are required, and what legal constraints exist on collecting past-due revenue.
During public Q&A, systems capacity and expansion were clarified: presenter Chris said the plant is designed for roughly 27,000 gallons per day, a design flow that equates to about 87 typical homes at conservative usage rates. Consultants proposed placing licensed operators (named on the record as Corbin King and operational partners) to monitor the plant during the study and to rapidly repair the most critical failure points.
The board voted to accept the master agreement and statement of work and authorized a stormwater board signer (Mr. Bray) to finalize the contract; the motion passed by voice vote. Staff said BCS expects to begin on-site work promptly and to prioritize safety (fencing, staffing, securing power) while completing the full assessment and recommendations within the study timeline.
