Questions and Concerns fielded by Local Sewer Officials

By: Corbin Lingenfelter, News Director

Haysville- Dubois County is wanting to expand its sewer treatment accesses.

To do so, the County has contracted Clark-Dietz, Inc. to create a sewer district for those who do not currently have wastewater treatment facilities, like Haysville.

In the proposed plan, Haysville will have their wastewater carried to Jasper’s treatment plant. Lift systems would be installed at various locations in Haysville to carry the waste from homes to the plant. These lift systems would be installed underground and would only have the control panel visible on properties. 

“All the flow is going to come from outside of Haysville, from the east and west, kind of towards the middle,” said Design Manager David Wichman, “Then it will flow towards Jasper, where it will then be treated by that wastewater treatment facility.”

Residents who have a functioning, legal septic tank will not be required to hook onto the new sewer system for ten years. This is the Grandfather clause in the project and a state law passed in recent years. The Dubois County Health Department says homes built prior to 1978 would not qualify. At the end of the ten year period, residents can apply for a five year extension. 

Those who do hook onto the new sewer system will be billed from the sewer district, not the city their waste goes to. They will be classified as an “Outside Governmental User”. The bills will be capped based on regional area prices. If a customer would like to know what they currently would spend on sewer payments, they can install a meter at their cost. 

Grants for the project’s funding are still being investigated and applied for. This is due to the state.

“The way Indiana’s grant process works is you work with several different ones,” said Mary Austin, Clark-Dietz Sr. Project Manager and Client Liaison, “We are working with Rural Development, we are also working with the state revolving fund, which is through the Indiana Finance Authority. The way the process works is you put these applications in and they look at it, they decide if it is a viable project. Then you get put in the hopper.”

All residents in the project area need to fill out a right of entry form with the county. This allows county staff, consultants, and contractors onto your property for surveying, conducting temporary construction easements, and investigations. No permanent structures will be placed onto the property through the Right of Entry, according to Austin. Following all investigations and processes, the county will pay to have the areas where they worked to the same or better condition prior to the start. The project team does not anticipate the need for easements, however if they do, the property owner will still own the property. Acquisitions for portions of land where lift stations will be done on a one-on-one meeting basis with property owners. 

As of Thursday night, the project team is expecting to go for bids in February of 2025, but may be pushed to 2026 due to grant applications.

Last nights presentation and past meetings can be found at duboiscountyin.org.