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Sewer upgrades would help area

Jefferson County, like many other rural parts, has a problem with faulty septic tanks, especially when there is a concentration of homes and not enough land to adequately handle such a system.

Amsterdam and Bergholz are two such areas where the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is ready to force the communities to abandon the septic systems and put in a modern sewage treatment plant, complete with sewer lines connecting the homes.

The Jefferson County Water and Sewer Department will apply for grants and take over the sewer system when the project is completed

Amsterdam is taking the lead on the project. The village leaders know that economic growth in Carroll County is ready to spill over into the village. But no business wants to locate where amenities, such as a sewer system, aren’t available.

Carroll County commissioners have joined in on the proposed sewer project.

It is the cooperation that funding agencies like to see.

There are about 400 homes in Amsterdam and Carroll County that will be serviced by the plant. Bergholz would add another 300 homes.

Amsterdam already received funding to complete a study on the sewer system. One of the primary funding agencies, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has encouraged the project area to be expanded to include Bergholz.

The USDA has been generous to Jefferson County during the Crestview-Belvedere sewer project, greatly reducing the costs to residents.

It appears the federal money will be available again to help county residents, especially those with low incomes.

But Bergholz hasn’t made a final decision on teaming with Amsterdam and Jefferson and Carroll counties.

The faulty septic tanks are leaking raw sewerage into Yellow Creek. Groups are working hard to restore the water quality of the creek.

The Jefferson County commissioners delayed action on the Crestview-Belvedere sewer project for three decades. The price went up and up until it looked like homeowners were going to have to pay a $20,000 assessment. The USDA stepped in and gave the county $4.4 million in grants and $5 million in low-interest loans, reducing a homeowner’s cost to $6,500.

The time is now for Bergholz to at least join in on a study to see how much the project will cost with Amsterdam and then how much it will cost doing it alone later. The residents should be told the results and they should decide. Ignoring the sewage problem will not result in it going away.

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