CROTHERSVILLE
Residents living near Hominy Ditch in Crothersville are encouraged to share their input on an upcoming combined sewer overflow project.
A special meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the town hall, 111 E. Howard St., Crothersville.
Affected homeowners should receive letters in the mail letting them know about the meeting. All regular monthly meetings and special meetings are open to the public and press.
“We have to get some easements for the sewer project we’re getting ready to do, so we’re going to be meeting with the homeowners,” council President Danieta Foster said during the regular council meeting Feb. 4.
Trena Carter with Administrative Resources association and Dan Wright with FPBH Inc. will discuss the project with the council and Sewer Superintendent Mason Boicourt at 6 p.m. Then the public can provide input starting at 6:30 p.m.
During the December council meeting, Wright said it’s a required project based on the agreed order the town has with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and will satisfy the terms of the combined sewer overflow compliance plan.
That plan was developed in 2008 to begin the process of separating the storm sewer from the sanitary sewer, and a project at the wastewater treatment plant was done between 2011 and 2013.
A planning document to address severe problems within the town’s wastewater utility was developed in 2011, and funding was secured for the $3.6 million project to complete repairs to the wastewater system. Around 40% was secured with grant money.
“That’s when we did a lot of the work at the plant and with the collection system down (U.S.) 31 south of town,” Wright said. “That project resulted in taking care of a lot of the problems that allowed you to be able to monitor the system better at that point, and that monitoring led to the discovery that we weren’t quite meeting all of the requirements necessary for the project.”
In 2016, a postconstruction evaluation was completed, and it was determined while many of the original issues were solved by the original project, additional work was required to meet the goals of the combined sewer overflow long-term compliance plan. As a result, a plan was developed and approved in 2017.
Also in 2016, a preliminary report was completed and $500,000 in funding was secured to replace three culverts along Hominy Ditch at Bethany, Park and Kovener streets to assist with stormwater management within the town.
Then in 2019, the town received a $550,000 grant to replace the lift station and complete stormwater repairs in and around the intersection of Seymour Road and Cindy Lane.
Now, it’s time for the final compliance project, which involves installing an overflow pipe parallel to the main line going to the plant and make some modifications to the plant to handle stormwater.
“We’re putting in an overflow pipe that will flow to the plant and be held inside of a storage tank and then pumped into the plant and treated,” Wright said. “Some of it, we’re required to have 100% treated for a certain amount of the flow, and then the rest of the flow will be partially treated and discharged, so you’ll have a separate system inside the plant.”
The parallel line will run east of Kovener Street where the sewer line runs along the north side of Hominy Ditch, run down to the plant and be held in storage in a pump station and pumped into the plant, Wright said.
“This will mean that 100% of the flow that stays in the pipe will go into the plant and be treated fully, but then the excess flow will go into this system, and it will go to the EQ basins inside the plant, where it will be subjected to chlorine at that point and go through disinfection and then it will be discharged,” he said.
The project is estimated to cost around $6 million. The council has approved a bond ordinance not to exceed that amount, a bond anticipation note for up to $550,000 and an engineering contract for nearly $900,000.
Wright said he will help the town seek grant money to try to eliminate some of the other issues inside the system. He also applied for the State Revolving Fund, which provides low-interest loans to Indiana communities for projects that improve wastewater and drinking water infrastructure.
Carter said there will be a public hearing at the start of the next council meeting, which is set for 6 p.m. March 3 at the town hall, giving people another chance to voice their input about the project. She also said she may create an online survey so people can share their thoughts on the need for the project.
The proposal is due April 3, and the full application is due May 22.
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What: Special meeting about the upcoming combined sewer overflow project in Crothersville
When: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Crothersville Town Hall, 111 E. Howard St.
Who: The public and press are invited; residents living near Hominy Ditch are especially encouraged to attend
Information: 812-793-2311
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