Youngstown face huge bill for wastewater upgrade

The city of Youngstown, Ohio, US, could be looking at a $147 million (£87.7 million) bill to upgrade its wastewater system. Youngstown's current wastewater treatment system does not conform with the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulations, reports vindy.com. It is likely that the necessary upgrades will result in increased costs for residents.

The city's finance committee met on Monday (August 11th) to go over the possible options for the upgrades. However, each possible method for bringing the system up to code would result in higher water bills in order for the city to meet with all the costs.

Daniel Markowitz. principal scientist and certified projection manager from Arcadis - which is advising the city on its infrastructure costs - told the news provider that the EPA is asking for Youngstown to deliver three completed infrastructure projects within the next 13 years. These projects include a $62 million wet-weather facility to cope with the extra water caused by heavy rain, upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant, which will cost around $37 million, and an interceptor - costing around $48 million - to stop wastewater entering Mill Creek Park.

If projects are completed inline with the EPA's time requirements, Mr Markowitz said water costs for the city's residents will rise by around five per cent every year for a decade. If the city chooses to extend the first phase of the plan as outlined by the EPA, this could lead to a slightly lower increase of four per cent a year for ten years.

Green options could also be used by Youngstown, which would see the wastewater system in certain parts of the city shut down to allow the water to flow in other places. This would see a difference in the way wastewater is treated, which could reduce overall costs.

With such a high cost put on the upgrades required by the EPA, the city can also go before a federal judge to ask for another option due to the fact it cannot afford the work.