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Wastewater Department The Jeffersonville Wastewater Department is responsible for wastewater collection and treatment and wastewater and drainage billing for all of the City of Jeffersonville, except for those portions of the city served by the Oak Park Conservancy District. Indiana Code 36-9-23 governs municipal wastewater operations and City Council ordinances 2000-OR-004, 2008-OR-062 and 2009-OR-043 further define operations and billing within Jeffersonville. Approximately 1,000 acres of downtown Jeffersonville -- from roughly Main Street west to the city's corporate limits with the Town of Clarksville -- are served with combined sewers, pipes that collect both sanitary and storm water. During heavy rain events and snow melts, the city's combined sewer often overflow, causing the discharge of diluted sanitary sewage into the Ohio River and Cane Run. Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) violate the Clean Water Act. Jeffersonville is one of 772 CSO communities in the United States, a number that includes 107 Indiana communities. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is systematically working with these communities to ensure that CSOs are reduced or eliminated. For more information on CSOs, see the IDEM's Combined Sewer Overflow Fact Sheet. In August 2009, the Jeffersonville Sanitary Sewer Board ratified a consent decree with the EPA, U.S. Department of Justice and Indiana Department of Environmental Management. The consent decree was accepted by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in November 2009. In April 2010, the Sanitary Sewer Board submitted to EPA a CSO Long-Term Control Plan which -- when approved by EPA -- will outline the work that must take place during the next 15 years in order to comply with the consent decree. It is estimated that the City of Jeffersonville will spend between $90 million and $120 million on waste and storm water projects to comply with the Clean Water Act by reducing CSOs. On Friday, June 18, 2010 the Jeffersonville City Council hosted a special meeting, during which council members and the public were updated on sewer projects that have been funded with the rate increase that took effect earlier this year. Both the Courier-Journal and The Evening News published stories from that meeting. Click HERE for a .pdf of the PowerPoint presentation that was presented during the special meeting. On Sunday, June 13, 2010, The Courier-Journal published an article on sewer rates in Louisville, which focuses on Louisville's Metropolitan Sewer District, but provides some solid background on what's happening with sewer rates nationally. This can help explain why Jeffersonville's sewer rates have increased 105%, following last year's consent decree for combined sewer overflows between the Jeffersonville Sanitary Sewer Board, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Justice and Indiana Department of Environmental Management. The Combined Sewer Overflow Long Term Control Plan that is currently under EPA review will require that Jeffersonville spend between $90 million and $120 million through 2020 or 2025 to reduce sewer overflows into the Ohio River and other local waterways. Click HERE to learn more about the sewer projects that are being funded by the rate increase that took effect in 2010. Since 1998, the Jeffersonville City Council has voted to increase sewer rates twice (2004, 2009) and each time it was in response to the EPA's enforcement of the Clean Water Act as it relates to CSOs. Wastewater Department Staff Hagan Alsept, Maintenance Supervisor Laura Boone, Sewer Billing Office Clerk Elisha Dale, Sewer Billing Office Manager Christina Gnadinger, Geographic Information Systems Coordinator Bob Goldman, Construction Supervisor Mike Griffin, Wastewater Collection System Supervisor Richard Huffmon, Construction Inspector Lori Kearney, Assistant Utility Director Jackie Langdon, Sewer Billing Office Clerk Michael Meyer, Pretreatment Supervisor, Certified Operator Cindy Seifert, Wastewater Treatment Plant Administrative Assistant Marion Shepherd, Construction Supervisor Patti Smith, Wastewater Treatment Plant Office Manager Bruce Wright, Sewer Billing Office Deputy Director Sanitary Sewer Board Meetings The Jeffersonville Sanitary Sewer Board meets at 3 p.m. on the first and third Thursdays of each month in the Mayor's Conference Room at City Hall, 500 Quartermaster Ct. Upcoming Canal Meetings The City of Jeffersonville will host public forums to discuss progress on the downtown canal at 6:30 p.m. in Room 101, City Hall, 500 Quartermaster Court, on the following dates:
Members of the public with questions and comments about the canal can contact Construction Solutions via e-mail. Please note that the above dates and times are tentative, as of their posting on July 27, 2010. It is the city's intention to provide as much advance notice as possible regarding canal-related meetings. Sewer Payments Payments are due to the Sewer and Drainage Billing Office on the 10th day of each month. Payments may be by cash, check or money order, or sewer customers may opt to enroll in electronic funds transfer. Non-electronic payments may be sent via U.S. Mail (please allow at least three business days for delivery), at the Sewer and Drainage Billing Office (Suite 104 in City Hall, 500 Quartermaster Court) or in the overnight drop behind City Hall, in the driveway leading to Twelfth Street. There is a $25 charge for checks returned for insufficient funds. If a bill is unpaid after the 10th day of the month, a 10 percent penalty applies as prescribed in Indiana Code 36-9-23-31. Responsibility for Payments City Council ordinance 1975-OR-028 states that property owners are responsible for the payment of sewer bills. Landlords should be aware that they are ultimately responsible for tenants' unpaid sewer bills. Properties for which sewer bills remain unpaid are subject to liens under Indiana Code 36-9-23-32. Emergencies Please report sewer emergencies to the wastewater treatment plant at 812-285-6451 before calling a plumber. Treatment plant office hours are 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Summer Relief During July, August and September bills for residential customers are based on usage for the previous January, February and March. This is to adjust for the volume of water used on lawns, gardens and other outside activities in which the water used would not pass through the sanitary sewer system. Water Consumption and Sewage Charges Sewer rates are based on water consumption and are billed a month behind a sewer customers' water bills. In other words, the water you use for the water bill you receive in January is used to calculate your February sewer bill. Water usage is measured in 100-cubic-foot increments. Drainage Fee Jeffersonville's residential wastewater customers are assessed a $3.50 per month fee for drainage, to help improve water quality and comply with the Clean Water Act. Drainage fees for businesses are based on the amount of impervious area -- any surface through which water cannot seep -- on each business customer's property.
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