Portage County sanitary engineer defends single‑tap plan for Brimfield Township connection, urges trustees meeting

Portage County Water Resources staff explained to the Board of Commissioners on June 5 why the county allowed Brimfield Township to use a single tap to connect two buildings to the county's force main and said staff would meet with township trustees to explain the decision and fees.

Sanitary Engineer John Vance said the original plan called for a separate force main connection and a pump station, but the township exhausted ARPA funding and the plan became unaffordable. Under the alternative, the county allowed a single tap to serve two of the township's buildings so those facilities could connect, with the condition that the plan minimize risk to the county system.

Why it matters: County staff said connections to a force main are inherently riskier than standard gravity sewer connections because failure of a private valve could discharge into the system; for that reason the county prefers separate connections and pump stations when feasible. Vance explained the county's tap fee is a composite of two impact components: one for the collection system (maintenance of the sewer network) and one for the wastewater treatment plant (treatment capacity and operations), and that the fee schedule assigns a unit per building for the purpose of assessing charges.

Vance described the township facilities as having one unit per building equal to the single‑residence unit used for fee calculation; he also said the county categorized the facilities as a business because a building could hold many occupants in peak use and, under standard policy, the business category better reflects potential demand. "Generally speaking, as a practice, we don't like any connections on our force main," Vance said, adding that a valve failure could cause a sewer discharge.

Commissioners expressed support for staff meeting with township trustees to explain the policy, and staff said they would arrange a meeting and emphasize the county had tried to facilitate a connection despite cost constraints on the township.

Next steps: John Vance will reach out to Brimfield Township trustees to explain the plan and the fee rationale and to discuss alternatives if the township can secure additional funding.