Council weighs repairs, inspections, plant future
VERMILION — Vermilion officials are weighing the future of the city’s wastewater treatment system while a related discussion Monday turned toward private property, including possible required sewer repairs, assessments, liens and court-authorized inspections.
The discussion comes as Mayor Russ Owens continues negotiations with the city of Lorain and Lorain County over possible regional wastewater options while the city makes improvements intended to keep its existing plant operating.
Councilman John Gabriel questioned whether Vermilion should give up its plant if it could be upgraded for less than the cost of sending wastewater elsewhere.
Gabriel said consultant Ed St. John previously told council that roughly $35 million in improvements could extend the existing plant’s useful life by about 20 years.
“If you can’t afford $35 million, how are we going to swing the $60, $70, $100-some million?” Gabriel said.
The city has been formally exploring regional wastewater options since at least 2023, when council approved a resolution supporting exploration of a Lorain County regional sewer district.
Owens said no final agreement has been reached and emphasized that future rates would be a major part of any deal.
“We will not negotiate a deal to tie in that doesn’t include a say in determining what the rates will be for the next 25 and 30 years,” Owens said.
Owens said the city also has been making targeted improvements to the existing plant. He pointed to the purchase of a used generator from Erie County for about $20,000 after the city had received an estimate of roughly $1.3 million for a new generator.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ultimately will have a major role in determining what long-term wastewater plan is acceptable, Owens said.
I&I drives concerns
Much of Monday’s discussion focused on inflow and infiltration, commonly called I&I.
I&I is groundwater or other unwanted water entering the sanitary sewer system through sources such as cracked pipes, sewer laterals, improperly connected drains, manholes and other aging infrastructure.
Councilman Homer Taft said the scale of the problem becomes apparent during wet weather.
Taft said average flow without rain can be about 500,000 gallons, while flows during wet periods can approach 12 million gallons. He said reducing that peak even substantially could help eliminate sewer overflows and improve the city’s position with federal regulators.
Earlier city records also identified I&I as a priority because sending rainwater and groundwater through a regional treatment system could leave residents paying to treat water that should not be in the sanitary sewer system in the first place.
“If we do the collection system, we can solve a lot of our problems for many years to come,” Taft said.
Taft argued that addressing the collection system could give Vermilion more time to work toward a long-term treatment solution.
Home repairs discussed
Taft said the city should consider legislation giving its building and service departments additional authority to find I&I sources on private property and require them to be corrected.
He outlined several possibilities.
A property owner could be told to make the repair. The city could potentially arrange discounted work and allow the homeowner to finance the cost through an assessment. Taft also discussed the possibility of the city having work completed and placing a lien on the property if an owner failed to act.
“We need to start doing this, and we don’t need to start doing it in a year or two,” Taft said. “We need to start doing it about a year ago.”
Another council member, Alec Bonawit, also raised the possibility of requiring sewer-system compliance when a property changes hands, comparing it with requirements that can apply to septic systems when homes are sold.
None of those proposals were adopted Monday, and no ordinance requiring property inspections or homeowner repairs was introduced.
Taft called it the beginning of a conversation and said the administration, engineer, service director and finance director should have input before council moves forward.
Warrant idea draws resistance
The most contentious possibility involved what Taft described as an administrative warrant.
Taft said the city could consider legislation allowing officials to seek an administrative warrant from Vermilion Municipal Court to inspect properties for I&I problems.
He described the possibility of a citywide warrant allowing officials to enter properties to determine whether private sewer problems are contributing unwanted water to the system.
Councilman Gary Howell immediately questioned that approach, pointing to council’s separate discussion that evening over privacy concerns involving automatic license plate readers.
“There’s an ordinance on tonight worrying about people’s cars getting videotaped,” Howell said. “And we’re going to ask the city to get a warrant to come on people’s property. Like, I don’t know that I’m on board with that part.”
Taft responded that the city would need legal authority to enforce requirements if property owners refused to correct identified problems.
Source remains uncertain
Taft said he suspected that as much as 90% of the I&I in some problem areas could be coming from private property.
City officials did not confirm that estimate.
When Taft asked for an assessment, officials said it is difficult to determine how much comes from private property and noted that manholes and other public infrastructure also contribute. One official said assigning a percentage would essentially amount to guessing.
The issue has been known for years. City minutes from 2021 identified significant I&I problems in the Vermilion-on-the-Lake and Elberta areas and noted that while sanitary sewer mains had previously been lined, private laterals remained a concern.
Development also questioned
The wastewater discussion also raised questions about future development.
Councilman Drew Werley asked whether the city should consider slowing or halting some incoming development if the existing wastewater system cannot handle additional growth.
Werley stressed that he was thinking aloud rather than proposing an immediate halt.
A city official responded that engineering calculations have included expected future development and said the primary difficulty occurs during rain events, when excess water enters the system and flows increase sharply.
Taft disputed whether the existing plant ultimately has enough capacity for the city’s projected growth and argued that a larger long-term solution will be necessary.
Rates still part of equation
Whatever direction Vermilion chooses, additional costs remain unresolved.
Owens said St. John has been involved in studying what borrowing roughly $25 million could look like and indicated council will have additional discussions about future sewer rates.
The city’s current inside-city wastewater rate is about $11.03 per 100 cubic feet under the rate ordinance adopted for 2026.
No new rate increase was proposed Monday.
Owens said St. John is expected to accompany city officials when they meet with the federal EPA in Chicago, and he suggested having St. John return to council with updated information.
Owens also said the city intends to ask about loan forgiveness tied to measurable reductions in I&I, meaning portions of financing could potentially be forgiven if Vermilion meets agreed-upon performance goals. He described that as the city’s goal, not an approved funding arrangement.
Owens said reducing I&I will remain important regardless of whether Vermilion ultimately maintains its own treatment plant or connects to another system.
For homeowners, however, exactly how the city will identify private sources of I&I, who ultimately would pay for repairs and what enforcement tools council might authorize remain unresolved.