By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
For years, aging septic systems in a small community north of Bowling Green have been sending raw sewage into ditches. But it appears that construction will begin later this year to end the contamination.
The unincorporated town of Dunbridge has been under orders from the Ohio EPA and Wood County Health Department to clean up the situation.
Many of the homeowners do not have adequate acreage to install new septic systems.
But the price tag to extend sanitary sewer services to Dunbridge was insurmountable for the residents, according to Northwestern Water and Sewer District Executive Director Jerry Greiner and Assistant Engineer Garret Chamberlain.
The sanitary sewer would serve about 55 homes, and cost an estimated $50,000 per home.
“It’s entirely unaffordable,” Chamberlain said.
In 2022, the Wood County Commissioners approved $8.7 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for the project. And since then, the Northwestern Water and Sewer District found industrial developments that could benefit from the project – and share in the expense.
The price tag is now up to $14.4 million to solve environmental issues and create economic development opportunities.
“This nuisance would have carried on” with the leaking sewage if not for funding being found from ARPA, Ohio EPA loans and other sources, Chamberlain said.
The project expected to benefit the environment and economic development would involve the extension of water and sanitary sewer lines from the district office on Ohio 582, east toward Interstate 75, then bore under the interstate and continue east to Dunbridge.
A pump station will be constructed in Dunbridge, with sewage being sent down Dunbridge Road lines to the Bowling Green wastewater treatment plant.
In addition to providing needed sanitary sewers to Dunbridge, the project would also make the acreage on Route 582 near I-75 shovel ready with water and sewer services. The lines would be large enough to serve significant customers.
Homeowners along the proposed sanitary sewer line will be required to abandon their septic tanks and connect to the line. The sewage will be sent to the wastewater treatment plant on Dunbridge Road in Bowling Green.
Water lines will also be extended to Dunbridge from the Northwestern Water and Sewer District headquarters on Route 582. Homeowners are not required to tap into public water lines, but concerns about water quality have led to 27 of the 55 homes already agreeing to connect, Greiner said.
“They have wanted water for years,” he said.
By tapping into regionalization, Greiner said the district will increase line sizes to serve the proposed data center on Route 582, and the Abbott Labs facility proposed on the north end of Bowling Green.
The data center representatives have offered supplemental funding for the project, as well as Bowling Green officials since wastewater from the Abbott facility will be sent east on Nims Road, then hook into the new sanitary sewer line on Dunbridge Road.
The water and sewer project is out for bids now, with construction to start by the end of this year and completion expected by the end of 2025.
The district recently extended sanitary sewers to Sugar Ridge, another community under EPA orders, located north of Bowling Green at the intersection of Mercer Road and Sugar Ridge Road.
The water and sewer district secured funding to help pay for that sewer extension. A total of 88 homes are now being served in Sugar Ridge, and along Mercer Road, north and south of the community, and along Cross Creek Road.
While homeowners are required to connect to sanitary sewers that come within 400 feet of their home, they are not required to connect to water lines.
