Madison Village is preparing to take the next step toward decommissioning its wastewater treatment plant.
The village has been working to determine how much sludge, grit and effluent remains at the wastewater treatment plant, after it was taken out of service late last year.
Wastewater treatment plants also are referred to as sewer plants.
Plans call for the village to hire a contractor to remove all of those substances from its plant and conduct a cleanup at the facility, Acting Village Administrator Jason Chapman said, during a recent interview.
Two companies have expressed interest in performing that project.
But Chapman said the severity of this past winter created conditions that made it difficult to assess how much sludge, grit and effluent were left at the plant.
“The timing of the shutdown of the village sewer plant was not the best,” Chapman said. “It was mid-November. That’s when Lake County took over and diverted the effluent from the sewer plant to their main lines.”
It was around that same time that Northeast Ohio got slammed with a prolonged and severe snowstorm that dumped 4 feet or more of snow on local communities.
“So that was the issue,” Chapman said. “The whole sewer plant is outside, and everything froze over quicker than normal. So trying to get exact figures (on remaining sewer-related substances at the plant) when there was 8 inches of ice on top of it is tough to do.”
More recently, as temperatures warmed up on a more consistent basis, creating the conditions needed for village workers to assess what substances were left over in the wastewater treatment plant’s components.
“So finally with everything thawing, we’ve been working down there,” Chapman said.
The village has been able to quantify the amount of sludge, grit and effluent remaining at the plant and will share those details with the contractors.
“So they’ll be able to give us a better quote on what we’re looking to do,” he said.
Looking ahead to the April 14 Village Council meeting, Chapman said he hopes to have a recommendation for the panel on which contractor to select for the project.
After the contractor is chosen and completes substance removal and cleanup work at the wastewater treatment plant, the Environmental Protection Agency will inspect the facility.
“Then EPA has to come in and say, ‘OK Madison Village, we’ve inspected it. You’re all good, you can decommission,’ ” Chapman said.
After getting the go-ahead for a final shutdown, the village could start removing equipment at the plant, such as pumps, he said.
The village might be able to sell some plant items on the govdeals.com online auction site, he said. Other apparatus could end up being scrapped.
It’s not certain what the village will do with the plant and its property after the decommissioning, he added.
Madison Village stopped treating its own wastewater after the completion of a major infrastructure project.
In late 2023, the village finished construction of a new trunk line to convey its wastewater to Lake County’s sanitary sewer pump station. That station is located near Immaculate Conception Catholic Church on Hubbard Road in Madison Township.
Last year, Lake County installed a new trunk line to direct the village’s sanitary sewage the rest of the way to the county Utilities Department Wastewater Treatment Plant on Cashen Road in Madison Township.
The sanitary sewer interconnection has made it possible for the village to decommission its wastewater treatment plant. This project also was a key part of a larger plan for Madison Village to shift billing, operations and administration of sewer and water service in the community to the Lake County Utilities Department.
That transition was approved in 2018 through an agreement involving Madison Village and Lake County commissioners.
The sale of Madison Village’s water system and sewer system to Lake County was completed in December of 2024.
