Austin Wiggam of New Washington has been appointed as a member of the Board of the Washington Township Regional Sewage District. Austin, of Wiggam Lumber, is well known to most people in the community. He has been actively involved in many community projects and we look forward to his contributions here. Welcome, Austin!
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New Board Member
We would like to take this opportunity to welcome Todd Webb, our newest Board member. Todd works for the Clark County Health Department and is a long-time resident of Washington Township. His insight and knowledge are greatly appreciated and highly valued. Welcome, Todd!
Indiana RSD Rate Study Completed
The Indiana Regional Sewer District Association hired Umbaugh and Associates to perform a statewide study of the rates of the 96 regional sewage districts in the state. 69 districts participated in the study.
The districts were grouped based on the number of residents served: Under 100 (13 Districts), 101 to 500 (26 Districts), 501 to 1000 (15 Districts), 1501 – 2000 (5 Districts), and over 2000 (7 Districts). We served 210 at the time of the survey, placing us in 101 to 500 group. We are pleased to report that our minimum, average, and maximum rates are lower than the statewide averages for our group and for all other groups.
Despite having relatively low rates, we are also reasonably strong financially and able to meet all obligations in a timely manner.
The entire study can be found on the Rates page.
Smoke Testing Performed Summer 2012
The sanitary sewers of New Washington were smoke tested during the summer of 2012. The purpose of this testing was to locate sources of infiltration to the sewer lines, where groundwater is entering the system.
No major problems were found but a few instances of incorrectly attached sump pumps and downspouts were discovered. We found many caps and covers which were broken or misplaced; these have been corrected. One manhole was found to be damaged and it has been repaired.
Please remember that attaching downspouts or sump pumps to the sewer system is not allowed.
Letter to Senator Smith
Senator Smith:
I am writing to you as president of the Washington Township Regional Sewage District, a district located in Washington Township, Clark County.
It has come to my attention that HB1117 will soon be considered by the Senate and there are constituencies which may wish to amend the bill to prevent Regional Sewage Districts (RSD) from filing liens on past due accounts. Our residents are served by Washington Township water Corporation, a co-op. The RSD has, on many occasions, approach the water corp and requested their cooperation to disconnect water service from customers who are in arrears on their sewer bill. They have consistently refused to do this as they are uncertain of its legality. That leaves us with two options to collect past due accounts: we can file a lien on the property or, after notifying the County Health Department, disconnect the sewer line serving the property. We have regularly filed liens to collect past due accounts and this method has been quite effective. Our bylaws permit us to use the disconnect for persistent offenders but we have not, to this date, done so as it is quite expensive for the property owner and will also result in the County Health Department immediately condemning the property.
If language is added to HB1117 to prevent us filing liens, we will have to resort to disconnection to enforce collections. This is a severe unintended consequence which I don’t think the Senate wishes to see happen. I therefore urge you to vote against any amendment which would prohibit the RSD from filing liens. An amendment which specifically allows cooperation between water corporations and RSDs to disconnect water service to enforce payment of past due sewer bills, however, would be quite helpful.
Thank you.
Ronald L Repp
Washington Township Regional Sewage District