Evansville Water and Sewer Utility submits final sewer overflow control plan to EPA Mandated sewer improvement plan now awaits federal feedback and approval
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – On Friday, May 31, 2013, the Evansville Water and Sewer Utility (EWSU) submitted the City of Evansville’s comprehensive, federally mandated integrated overflow control plan (IOCP) to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Justice and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
Under the federal consent decree, approved by a federal court in June 2011, EWSU’s original deadline for the final IOCP was Nov. 30, 2012. However, in 2011, while EWSU was collecting sewer-flow data, Evansville experienced the wettest year on record. To ensure the plan was built based on more typical conditions, EWSU asked for another six months to collect additional data and right-size system improvement plans, extending the deadline to May 31, 2013.
State and federal regulators will review and respond to Evansville’s IOCP over the next several months.
EWSU’s plan is a 28-year, $540 million program, called Renew Evansville, which will significantly upgrade Evansville’s sewer system infrastructure, improve operations and reduce water pollution. Projects will address combined sewer overflows, and overflows and backups in the separate sanitary sewer system. Combined sewer overflows occur when stormwater and sanitary wastewater exceed the capacity of the combined sewer infrastructure, resulting in sewage being dumped into the Ohio River and Pigeon Creek. “This plan is the culmination of years of work with engineers, Utility staff and the Renew Evansville citizens advisory committee. After hearing and collecting public comment from the Utility’s ratepayers, we are responding to state and federal regulators with a plan that outlines effective, fitted and financially viable solutions to improve Evansville’s sewer system and reduce pollution into our waterways caused by combined sewer overflows,†said Allen Mounts, director of the Evansville Water and Sewer Utility.
In balancing meeting EPA regulations and affordability of the plan, EWSU has proposed a 28-year plan that aims to capture 92 percent of wet weather flow in the combined sewer system. The total cost of the plan is $540 million. The Utility is proposing a 28-year implementation schedule to help keep rates down as much as possible, ensuring rates for in-city customers do not exceed 2 percent of Evansville’s median household income.
Mayor Lloyd Winnecke added, “The diligence and effort the Utility has put into this plan is commendable. The City strives to reach an agreement that complies with federal mandate to clean up our waterways and is right-sized in cost and scale to minimize financial burdens on ratepayers.â€
The plan, along with more information about Renew Evansville, is available online at www.RenewEvansville.com.
