avonlakewater.org

LORCO Dedicates Sanitary Sewer Project

Mark Christ — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:11:13 +0000

LORCO Dedicates Sanitary Sewer Project
They said it couldn’t be done!

By Mark Christ
January 28, 2012

At the early LORCO (Lorain County Rural Wastewater District) meetings in 1997, the residents told the newly formed Board that it would never complete the project. “That challenge really encouraged us to overcome all the obstacles that confronted us,” recalled LORCO President Jim McConnell.

The project, which had been scheduled for completion in November 2010, had been delayed by public meetings and unsuccessful lawsuits (two with Elyria and one with Eaton Township), easement and OEPA wetland issues, negotiations with contractors, who had not fulfilled their obligations, and record rainfalls that slowed down construction and restoration efforts.

Past Executive Director Fred Alspach and the board members, past and present. persevered, and on January 28th, 2012, they dedicated the Lorain County Rural Wastewater District’s Phase I Project, at the East Carlisle Building, Carlisle Township. The project includes approximately 37 miles of sanitary collection sewers and 13 pump stations in sections of Eaton and Carlisle Townships, and the 13 miles of sanitary sewer force main and auxiliary pumping stations that convey the wastewater to Avon Lake’s Water Pollution Control Center for treatment.

President McConnell said, “The board’s vision would not have become a reality, without the expertise of a number of key individuals.” Among them were Avon Lake Municipal Utilities Special Projects Advisor John Kniepper, who served as their “mentor on all matters relating to sanitary sewers.” Kniepper and the Avon Lake Board of Municipal Utilities worked closely with Bob Smallwood of GRW Engineering and the LORCO Board, to create a blueprint and obtain the financing that would make Phase I a reality.

He also thanked Tim Mahoney, General Manager of RLCWA (Rural Lorain County Water Authority) and Marcus Bryant, General Manager of LMRE (Lorain Medina Rural Electric), for helping LORCO Executive Director Rob Berner and ALMU Administrative Assistant Becky Haines to develop a successful business model for the rural utility. Haines reported that 600 homes have been connected to date. Berner estimated the total number of homes to be served at about 1,000.

McConnell cited four principals that he believes make rural utilities like LORCO successful: It’s a non-profit entity (no hidden costs); charges its customers by the tap instead of frontage; provides townships and villages with a plan for determining the best use of the land for agricultural, residential, and commercial development; and it protects the environment.

The project, which is being financed by a 30-year low interest loan from the OWDA (Ohio Water Development Authority) and $5 million in ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) funds, cost $27.7 million. The OWDA loan also allows property owners more flexible terms for financing their sewer tap and user fees.

Over 200 construction jobs were created by the project, and the residents of Eaton and Carlisle Townships now have a centralized sanitary sewer system that will meet all OEPA safe wastewater requirements, and will encourage economic growth in rural Lorain County. Words: 482 (Caption) A moment of triumph for Past Executive Director, Fred Alspach, President Jim McConnell, and Special Projects Advisor John Kniepper at the dedication of Lorain County Rural Wastewater District’s Phase I Project.

Here is the ALMU Water Series schedule for ALC-TV

AvonLakeWater — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:00:27 +0000

January 26, 2012

Here is the current schedule for the ALMU Water Series to be broadcast weekly on ALC-TV. This schedule is tentative so please check back regularly for changes.

Water Series on ALC-TV

Airing at 4AM/PM and 10 AM/PM

Time Warner 12 and WOW! 21

Schedule

Begin Date	Title	Audience	Duration
1/4/12	*More Plain Talk About Drinking Water* Answers more questions about water quality, water treatment and distribution, bottled water, home filtration, conservation, tastes and odors, and more.	Adult
1/11/12	*The Water Works: From Source to Tap* This fun-filled youth-education video takes kids on a tour of a municipal water plant. Basic scientific principles involved in water treatment are explained.	Youth	~12:00
1/18/12	*Professor Water: Fantastic Facts About Drinking Water* Join the wacky Professor Water as he and his sidekick take kids from Niagara Falls to the South Pole, and from Death Valley to the O.K. Corral! Along the way, viewers learn a world of information about water treatment, water conservation, and other wonders of water.	Youth	26:10
1/25/12	*Liquid Assets* Liquid Assets, a ninety-minute documentary, tells the story of essential infrastructure systems: water, wastewater, and stormwater. These systems — some in the ground for more than 100 years — provide a critical public health function and are essential for economic development and growth. Largely out of sight and out of mind, these aging systems have not been maintained, and some estimates suggest this is the single largest public works endeavor in our nation’s history. Exploring the history, engineering challenges, and political and economic realities in urban and rural locations, the documentary provides an understanding of the hidden assets that support our way of life. Locations featured in the documentary include Atlanta, Boston, Herminie (Pennsylvania), Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C.	Adult	~1:26:00
2/1/12	*Professor Water and the Amazing Water Cycle* Question: “What’s the formula for water?” Answer: “H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O.” (You know, “H” to “O”) He’s weird! He’s wacky! He’s Professor Water! Join the zany professor and a cohort of kids as they go for a wild ride on the wondrous water cycle.	Youth	~28:00
2/8/12	*Top Consumer Questions About Drinking Water* Informed consumers are better customers and smarter conservationists. This video sets out to test and improve consumers’ knowledge of drinking water with timely information, humor, and compelling statistics. An informed public and customer service response team are two of a utility’s most important assets.	Adult	12:13
2/15/12	*The Story of Drinking Water* Designed for elementary students, this DVD makes learning about water fun by bringing to life AWWA’s best-selling children’s educational booklet The Story of Drinking Water. Kids learn facts about water on our planet, water treatment in ancient times to the present, water resources and conservation, and much more.	Youth
2/22/12	*Plain Talk About Drinking Water* Answers questions about water quality, water treatment and distribution, bottled water, home filtration, conservation, tastes and odors, and more.	Adult
2/29/12	*A Consumer’s Guide to Water Conservation* See numerous conservation tips that that can immediately be put to use both indoors and outdoors. It offers conservation suggestions for the kitchen, bath, and laundry, plus lawn watering tips, Xeriscaping, leak detection, and much more.	Adult	13:40
3/7/12	*Inside the Weather* The weather: always changing, always interesting, always in the news. Where does the weather come from? Why does it change? Fourth, fifth, and sixth graders will get the answers in AWWA’s fascinating new video, Inside the Weather. They will see, through colorful and stimulating visuals with fast paced explanations, how water, air, and heat from the sun create weather . . . why we have different seasons . . . the five layers of the earth’s atmosphere. They will learn how clouds form and move . . . why some precipitation falls as rain and some as snow or hail . . . how meteorologists predict the weather . . . what low pressure and high pressure mean. Viewers of all ages will be stimulated with fascinating facts about hurricanes and tornados . . . droughts and floods . . and the hottest, coldest, wettest, and driest places on earth!	Youth	~15:00
3/14/12	*More Plain Talk About Drinking Water* Answers more questions about water quality, water treatment and distribution, bottled water, home filtration, conservation, tastes and odors, and more.	Adult
3/21/12	*The Adventures of Ethel Mermaid and Tad Pole* They’re explorers. Investigators. Amphibians. They’re Ethel Mermaid and Tad Pole. In this five-part series, grade-schoolers can learn and laugh along with this splashy duo as they set out to discover everything they can about water. Live-action video, computer animation, and special effects add lots of kid-pleasing visual interest. Grades 3 - 5. *Part 1: The Hydrologic Cycle. Ride the wild hydrologic cycle and learn about how Earth recycles water over and over. Part 2: Source to Tap. Follow a water drop from its source far away to the water treatment plant to your home. Part 3: Water Treatment. Take a fascinating tour of the water treatment plant. Part 4: Source Water Protection. Learn why it is important for everyone to keep lakes and rivers clean and unpolluted. Part 5: Fun Facts About Water*. Test your knowledge about water.	Youth	~40:00
3/28/12	*Top Consumer Questions About Drinking Water* Informed consumers are better customers and smarter conservationists. This video sets out to test and improve consumers’ knowledge of drinking water with timely information, humor, and compelling statistics. An informed public and customer service response team are two of a utility’s most important assets.	Adult	12:13
4/4/12	*The Story of Drinking Water* Designed for elementary students, this DVD makes learning about water fun by bringing to life AWWA’s best-selling children’s educational booklet The Story of Drinking Water. Kids learn facts about water on our planet, water treatment in ancient times to the present, water resources and conservation, and much more.	Youth
4/11/12	*Top Consumer Questions About Cryptosporidium* Answers questions about water quality, water treatment and distribution, bottled water, home filtration, conservation, tastes and odors, and more.	Adult	~12:00
4/18/12	*Our Water Cycle* This exciting video takes you on the wildest ride of all — the earth’s water cycle! You’ll go up miles into the troposphere as water vapor, then plummet back down to earth as rain or snow — and eventually ride the cycle all the way to the ocean or even soak down, deep under the earth’s surface. You will learn what percentage of much water is in oceans, rivers and lakes, polar ice caps, and underground . . . how little of earth’s water is actually available for all the earth’s people, animals, and plants to drink . . . how hydrogen and oxygen molecules combine to form water. You’ll learn why water becomes liquid, vapor, or ice . . . how water evaporates into the atmosphere to form clouds . . . and why it falls back to earth thousands of miles away as rain, snow, or hail. Viewers see where all the precipitation goes — either landing on plants, infiltrating into the ground, or running into rivers, lakes, and oceans — in a never ending cycle of evaporation, condensation, transpiration and precipitation!	Youth	11:30
4/25/12	*Plain Talk About Drinking Water* Answers questions about water quality, water treatment and distribution, bottled water, home filtration, conservation, tastes and odors, and more.	Adult

Eaton and Carlisle sanitary sewer system is up and running

Mark Christ — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:28:55 +0000

November 10, 2011

After two years of negotiation and construction the Lorain County Rural Wastewater Authority (LORCO) sanitary sewer line in Eaton and Carlisle Townships is up and running. The pumping station started wastewater flowing to Avon Lake’s Wastewater Treatment Plant today, November 9th.

The project, which was scheduled for completion in November 2010, had been delayed by public meetings and three lawsuits (two with Elyria and one with Eaton Township), wetland and easement issues, negotiations with contractors who had not fulfilled their obligations, and record rainfalls that slowed down construction and restoration efforts.

ALMU Consultant John Kniepper and LORCO Executive Director Rob Berner are all smiles about the start up of the Eaton and Carlisle Township sanitary sewer system.

In spite of these delays, the fifteen pumping stations, 37 miles of sewer service line, and 13 miles of force main were completed within the estimated budget of $27.7 million. Over 200 construction jobs were created by the project, and the residents of Eaton and Carlisle Townships now have a centralized sanitary sewer system that meets all OEPA safe wastewater requirements and encourages economic growth for the region.

Avon Lake Municipal Utilities (ALMU) also processes wastewater for northern sections of Avon. With the addition of flows from LORCO (initially 200,000 gallons per day), approximately 10% of the wastewater processed at the plant now comes from outside the city. The additional revenues from these volume sewer customers help to distribute the costs for ongoing operations, plant expansions, and technologies that provide quality sewer service at a cost of 50¢ to 75¢ a day for the average Avon Lake customer.

According to the most recent Ohio EPA sewer rate survey*, the average annual cost for Avon Lake was $236. The average annual cost for eight neighboring communities (Bay Village, Cleveland, Amherst, North Olmsted, Lorain, Vermilion, Elyria, Oberlin) was $501. Partnerships with entities like LORCO help to keep Avon Lake’s rates comparatively low for all Avon Lake Municipal Utilities customers.

*Source: 2009 OEPA Sewer & Water Rate Survey