Fairborn, Huber Heights water service deal may bring ‘big economic boost’

Huber Heights plans to install a sewer line next year expanding service to businesses and residents on the city’s east side to Fairborn’s water treatment facility.

The estimated $4.4 million project is the focus of a 20-year agreement both cities have approved to provide Huber Heights wastewater collection and treatment, officials said.

The work, which is targeted for completion by June 1, 2023, will serve “the entire east side” of Huber Heights, about 3,900 acres from Bellefontaine Road to Ohio 4/235, including Center Point 70 Commerce Park, officials said.

Credit: STAFF

Credit: STAFF

“The installation of this utility could provide a big economic boost to the city,” Huber Heights Engineer Russ Bergman said. “The land east of the city will become more valuable to real estate developers when sewer and water services become available.”

Huber Heights doesn’t have an estimate yet on the number of customers the line could serve, Interim City Manager Bryan Chodkowski said.

Fairborn has similar deals with Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Wright State University, City Manager Rob Anderson said.

“This will probably be the most robust agreement that we have,” Anderson told city council.

Huber Heights and Tri-Cities North Regional Wastewater Authority officials said the Fairborn deal will not impact the utilities cooperative the Montgomery County city shares with Tipp City and Vandalia.

Center Point 70 Commerce Park, at the northwest quadrant of the I-70/Ohio 235 interchange, houses more than 20 businesses and over 1,600 jobs, according to Huber Heights Chamber of Commerce website.

Old Dominion Trucking at the commerce park is in need of the service, Bergman said. Huber Heights has committed to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to have the line connected on or before June 1, he added.

Huber Heights had a long-standing deal with Clark County to service sewer and water to the commerce park, Chodkowski said.

But “the city decided that we wanted to service this area with our own water utilities as well as provide a different sewer option,” he added.

Huber Heights “shall be solely responsible” for the sewer line’s construction, including meters, easements, engineering and associated costs, the contract states.

The sewer line will be about 8,300 feet long, and 4,200 feet is needed to provide service to the commerce park, Bergman said. About 6,000 feet of sanitary pipe will be installed going west on Chambersburg Road from Ohio 4/235 for future development, he added.

The Fairborn Water Reclamation facility is near Ohio 4 and south of Rainbow Lakes.

Huber Heights would pay to build a new lift station at the Fairborn facility, according to the agreement.

The deal would be at no cost to Fairborn and calls for Huber Heights to pay the Greene County city a $10,000 a year, fund charges to treat the sewer and pay for any repairs, Anderson said.

The move would add revenue for Fairborn, Anderson said.

Fairborn also has agreements to provide water for Wright State and Wright-Patt, as well as treat sewage for the base, Anderson said.

The Huber Heights sewer line would add about 100,000 gallons a day “at the start, but could grow over time because there is some developable land” in the area to be served, Anderson said.

Fairborn now treats about four million gallons a day at the plant, which has the capacity to treat about 6 million gallons, he said.

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