MOUNT VERNON — Using American Rescue Plan Act money to buy backup generators for the county’s wastewater pump stations paid dividends when the March 13 windstorm hit Knox County.
“We would have had a nightmare last week had we not had those in there because we had ones running for several days,” Jeff Pickrell, water/wastewater superintendent, told Knox County Commissioners on March 17.
“With power being out, we would have really struggled to try to keep up. [Before], our crew would have been in there the whole time, and we would have had people out when the wind was blowing and the trees were falling, which is not a real good safety thing.”
Pickrell said the generators ran for about two and a half days.
Without the additional generators, workers would have had to haul the three portable ones from station to station.
“We would have probably ended up with sewer in people’s houses or in the lake, because you can only get around to so many to try to get them pumped down,” Pickrell said. “It’s quite extensive to get around; we would have never kept up, even if we had the manpower.”
The county used more than $300,000 in ARPA funds to buy generators. Now the county has 26 generators that switch on automatically during a power outage.
“So, it was very beneficial, and we are very grateful that we were able to do that project. It’s made a big difference, and we didn’t have any overflows or anything like that,” he said. “They just worked like a charm.”
Pickrell typically hires an outside contractor to run annual load tests on the diesel generators. The natural gas ones are tested about every three years.
Still fighting I&I problems
A priority in 2026 is continuing to camera the sewer lines to reduce inflow and infiltration problems.
Pickrell said that with the recent rain, flows are up about 1 million gallons compared to during the cold weather in December and January.
“We definitely have I&I problems, which everybody does, but we need to address them. That’s just excessive pumping and treatment that we shouldn’t need to do,” he said.
I&I is rainwater that seeps into the sewer system. It can enter the system via a manhole, cracked or leaking sewer lines. Groundwater can also enter through downspouts and sump pumps, which is illegal according to EPA regulations.
“Those are a little bit harder for us to find, especially the sump pumps. … As we find them, [homeowners] will be required to take them out,” Pickrell said.
Replacing the Pleasant View Acres gravity line is one project on tap for 2026 to reduce I&I.
“We see a significant amount of clean water coming into our new wastewater plant out there. We’re probably double what we had anticipated on the flows coming through there,” Pickrell said.
“We’re still well within compliance and meeting our permit limits, but it is a concern, especially in small package plants like that.”
In addition to cameraing the lines, workers will clean the digesters of grit entering through I&I.
On the water side, workers will walk the system to identify the source of water loss. The county previously reduced the loss from 60% to around 20%, but is currently losing about 40 percent.
Financing a new administration building and well
County Administrator Jason Booth said the county plans to finance the cost of drilling a new well and constructing the administration building through the OWDA (Ohio Water Development Authority).
The OWDA provides local governments with low-interest loans and grants for water, wastewater, and solid waste projects.
Booth said the interest rate is likely in the upper 3-percent range. The county will finance the projects separately; Pickrell will repay the loans through his revenue.
“That was a much better low-interest way to go versus a bond,” Booth said. “There were some ways to finance it through state EPA, but the timing of that wasn’t going to line up and the process is a little bit longer.”
Another advantage of OWDA is that the county will only finance actual costs. With a bond, the county would have to finance based on estimated costs.
The Board of Commissioners paid $142,500 for 2.3 acres at 22000 Coshocton Road last year for a new administration building.
Pickrell anticipates bidding the project by the end of the month.
Jamison Well Drilling & Pump Services should start drilling a new well this week. Phase 1 includes drilling the well, conducting water samples, and testing the pumps.
Pickrell will send the data to the Ohio EPA, which will then issue a permit to install (PTI). Once they issue the PTI, Pickrell will initiate Phase 2: bidding the piping, electric, and other installation components.
He will pay for Phase 1 from his budget; Phase 2 will be financed by the county through OWDA.
Commissioners approve contracts
In other business on March 17, the commissioners approved contracts and agreements:
•Contractor agreement for IT services for the village of Gambier.
•Sub-agreement for program years ’26 and ’27 between the Knox County Department of Job & Family Services and the Greater Ohio Workforce Board for comprehensive business-driven workforce development services.
•A second support letter for the airport’s congressionally directed spending application for the construction of a maintenance facility.
•Ten contracts for organizations receiving funding through the senior levy.
Booth reported the fairgrounds sustained damage from the March 13 windstorm.
Additionally, the Knox County Dog Shelter lost several thousand dollars’ worth of vaccines due to the power outage. Booth said the county will consider buying a backup generator for the shelter.