Water and sewer utilities are deeply involved in the planning of economic development in and around their service areas. These opportunities are driven by the availability of other infrastructure such as roads, electric, gas and communications.
The development typically follows the highways and large surface roads, then the extension of water and sanitary sewers which can generate commercial, industrial, and residential developments and the related land uses that follow.
In most cases, the original designers and constructors of the infrastructure are long gone when the development begins. In Wood County, this process started in the 1950s when the interstate system was developed. Interstate 75, the Ohio Turnpike, and their access points set the stage for the development we see today. Other highways like US 20, SR 795, SR 163, and numerous other roadways allowed for efficient access to homes and businesses.
Our predecessor was the Wood County Sanitary Engineer’s office, under the authority of the Wood County Commissioners. During the early years of our existence, the state offered significant funding to generate large water and sanitary sewer trunk mains to follow the master plan for the County. This allowed them to construct the mains sized to serve large areas of the county, particularly following the roads that were in place.
In 1994, the Northwestern Water and Sewer District was formed, taking over the operations of the County Sanitary Engineer. A new Master Plan was completed and updated many times over the last 30 years to reflect the current and projected needs of Wood County. Fortunately, our predecessors built a great system that allows us to serve the diversity of needs for water and sewer services. This does not come without significant costs to repair, replace, upgrade, and extend these systems.
A large amount of federal and state funding has been made available since 2020, and The District has been the recipient of a significant portion. This does not happen without planning, engineering, and administrative efforts by us and various Wood County and State governmental agencies.
One lesser-known economic development benefit is securing funding for planned and future development and allowing critical services to typically underserved areas. For example, in 2010, we were able to construct sewers to the Eastwood Commerce Center in Troy Township for future development (currently occupied by NSG manufacturing and the Home Depot warehouse) and to the unincorporated villages of Stony Ridge and Lemoyne. These communities were issued orders from the Ohio EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in 2000 to construct sanitary sewers. By combining these diverse needs into a single project with funding from multiple state and federal agencies, we were able to offset much of the cost of construction for the residents. Many jobs were created while improving the quality of the local watershed.
A similar example is under design currently to serve the SR 582 and I-75 interchange with water and sewer and to Dunbridge which is currently under orders for the construction of sanitary sewers due to failing septic systems in the community.
We are proud and pleased to be a part of the success of Wood County and other communities in the region. Our dedicated and experienced staff are always planning and preparing for the needs of our county and the region.
Tom Stalter
District Engineer
January 29, 2024