By james art Madison Village is nearing completion of the transfer of its water and sewer facilities to Lake County.
Village Administrator Duane Bailey estimated the transition for both services could be completed sometime in December.
He provided an update on the status of the village’s water supply and sanitation during the October 28 village council meeting.
For nearly seven years, Madison Village has been working to transfer billing, operations and administration of the community’s sewer and water supply to the Lake County Public Utilities Department. That transition was approved in February 2018 through an agreement involving Lake County commissioners.
At the Oct. 28 council meeting, village resident Walter Richardson asked if Lake County had taken ownership of the community’s water and sewer system.
Bailey first addressed the topic of where Madison’s sewage—officially known as wastewater—enters and is treated.
He said Madison Village is connected by a pipe to the Lake County Water Treatment Plant. But this tube is still not open and not working.
“Probably sometime around the beginning of December, that wastewater will be transferred to this new section of pipe and we will begin decommissioning the village wastewater plant,” Bailey said.
Last year, Madison Village completed its portion of the sanitary sewer connection project.
This endeavor included the construction of a new main line to carry the village’s sewage to the Lake County Sanitary Sewer Pumping Station. This station is located near Immaculate Conception Catholic Church on Hubbard Road in Madison Township.
Lake County then installed a new main line to route the village’s sanitary sewer the rest of the way to the County Utilities Department’s wastewater plant on Cashen Road in Madison Township.
Legally, Bailey said Madison Village will continue to hold title to its sewer system.
“The agreement we entered into with Lake County gives them a franchise to operate our sewer,” he said. “We cannot transfer ownership of our sewer system until it is paid off, at which point it will be fully transferred to Lake County.”
The Lake County Public Utilities Department will also soon provide a licensed operator to work at the Madison Village Wastewater Treatment Plant. That’s because the village’s current licensed wastewater plant operator, Jim Borsi, is retiring Nov. 1.
“In the meantime, there will be about a month that the plant will still have to operate after Jim retires,” Bailey said. “So the Lake County Public Utilities Department will assign a licensed operator to that plant to cover that time period.”
Bailey said Borsi was an “indispensable” employee at the Madison Village Wastewater Treatment Plant.
“He came out of retirement to help us when we were in need and did an outstanding job for the village,” Bailey said.
The Lake County Public Utilities Department already manages Madison Village’s water system, Bailey said. But water bills are still issued by the village.
“The reason (water) is being billed in the village during the transition is because we’re still meter reading and our sewer is billed based on water usage,” Bailey said. “Billing will be transferred when the sewer is transferred. It was just cleaner that way.”
Madison Village sends a combined water and sewer bill on a monthly basis. Each service is described separately in the bill.
Once these utilities are transferred to Lake County, Madison Village customers will receive one quarterly water and sewer bill.