Grassy Creek to get more attention

Grassy Creek in Perrysburg gets raw sewage dumped into it during periods of heavy rainfall to alleviate basement flooding in the area.
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Perrysburg officials say it’s time to come up with a plan that will prevent the dumping of raw sewage into Grassy Creek during periods of heavy rainfall.

For decades, the city has legally allowed sanitary sewers to drain into the creek to alleviate basement flooding in area homes. It’s a common problem in older cities, especially where there aren’t sufficient storm sewers. In older areas of the city, storm sewers are inadequate, causing challenges during heavy downpours, said Alice Godsey, public utilities director.

“We have made improvements in the system [over the years],” Ms. Godsey said. “We need to come up with a general plan, schedule, and funding to tackle this.”

In May, the city dumped an estimated 576,000 gallons of waste into the creek during a nine-hour period. In 2014, the city dumped into the creek three times, eight times in 2013, and six times in 2012.

“We’re following our guidelines and reporting overflows to the Environmental Protection Agency,” City Administrator Bridgette Kabat said. “This goes back many administrations, but we’re working on it. It’s a work in progress.”

Grassy Creek is one of the main tributaries of the Maumee River Watershed. It bisects the city and flows through the east and west sides of town.

Councilman Todd Grayson grew up not far from the creek and has memories of playing in the water. Mr. Grayson, chairman of the Health, Sanitation, and Public Utilities Commission, said the city has done well addressing the overflow issues but needs to communicate and work together to get the problem solved completely.

“We have two bad options: basement backups or dumping in Grassy Creek. My frustration is that we don’t have a defined plan on what we’re going to do to fix it,” Mr. Grayson said. “Just because the EPA says it’s OK doesn’t mean it’s acceptable for Perrysburg. I’m trying to fight the complacency.”

It won’t be an easy fix, Ms. Godsey said. The work would be expensive and involves excavating around homes and diverting drain systems.

“With enough time, effort, and dollars, the problem is fixable,” Ms. Godsey said.

“It’s not a simple fix to correct, but we definitely have to work on this,” she said, adding that her department will review previous studies of the overflows to see what recommendations are still viable. “We need to work to zero discharges from the sanitary sewer.”

Contact RoNeisha Mullen at: rmullen@theblade.com, 419-343-3299.