320 Nelson Street, P.O. Box 778, Tiffin, OH 44883
Phone (419) 448-3200 Fax (419) 447-3274
General E-Mail: adtrib@bright.net
Newsroom E-Mail: atnews@bright.net

The Tiffin City Council is considering a comprehensive study of its storm and sanitary sewer systems.

In December, Mayor Bernie Hohman gave the council an estimate of $70,000 for a study that would identify sewer problems and recommend solutions.

The $70,000 would be well spent if the council would enter into the study process with a commitment to concurrently work with the enguneering firm to set up a timetable for achieving solutions.

Some of the problems are well known without a study. It's no secret that Tiffin has:

1) Sections of ancient and deteriorating sewer pipes that should be replaced,

2) Combination sewers in which sanitary sewage on one side is separated only by a partition (weir) &emdash; some of which are failing &emdash; in the middle,

3) Large pipes that flow into smaller pipes,

4) A history if problems with the siphons that go under the river, and,

5) Unidentified but suspected other problems that give impetus to the need for a stody.

A complete study that identifies every problem would do no good without subsequent action.

The city has acted in the last couple of yeasr to address one of the worst set of problems, that posed by the old Gibson Run sewer.

As things stand now, however, the next project to upgrade part of the system is up in the air.

If the comprehensive study is done, it needs to be complemented by a timetable for action. Dates should be set from the near to the distant future for correcting the problems.

Even though the plans of a current council cannot be forced on future councils, this at least would provide a plan to be modified as the need arose.

The engineering firm, in consultation with the EPA, in its plan should prioritize the problems to be corrected.

Then city officials could set up a timetable, weighing both the urgency of the need for solution and the ability of the city to finance the needed projects.

The problems under our feet will not go away. Because the tile, iron and other materials involved are deteriorating, the need to correct will only grow.

Too many communities pay for too many studies that only do two things: keep the EPA happy and take up space on shelves. If Tiffin is to pay for another one, it should do so with a commitment to employ it.

To do less would be to ignore the environmental abuse of the present and the needs of the future.