Private drain pipe in Amelia may be eroding Route 125

Amelia Village Mayor Leroy Ellington said a recent survey by the Clermont County storm water department has unearthed some dire findings along Ohio Pike in the village.

Ellington said the survey found “sinkholes and clear indications of erosion” caused by overflow from a water retention pond on the western edge of the village. The water volume and pressure coming from the pond 25 feet south of the road and entering the village storm water sewer system through a pipe under the roadway is eroding some of the dirt surrounding the pipe and Ellington said it is unclear just how much damage the water is causing under state Route 125.

“When the pond overflows, which is quite frequent of course, you never see any water going out of there so my thinking is that that is eating away underneath the highway like a big tunnel,” councilman Bob Pollitt said. “The longer it goes the bigger that tunnel’s going to get until one day (the road collapses) because there’s nothing under it.”

The village regularly contracts with an engineering firm for services such as zoning issues, and Ellington said the firm has been looking into the drainage issue.

They began looking into the issue when the owner of the retention pond and the surrounding property approached the village with a plan to change the size of the pipe leading from the retention pond to the village storm water sewer system. Ellington said he told the property owner he would need to contract with an engineer to draw up plans so the village could review the potential effect the change would have on the rest of the storm water system.

“The gentleman wasn’t happy with the idea of spending any money on engineering to do this,” Ellington said.

Ellington said he has been trying to urge village officials to bring Amelia’s finances in line and to ensure the village is prepared for a problem which could impose a large burden on the village’s budget.

“For the last two years I’ve been painting the scenario of a costly sink hole in the village and the lack of the village’s preparedness from a financial standpoint,” Ellington said. “This erosion issue is on Main Street demonstrates the real potential that the proverbial sinkhole that I’ve been speaking of is real.”

He said the engineering company is investigating the extent of the problem and once they make a determination the village will be able to discuss the issue further. Due to the fact that the problem is related to the connection of a private pipe into a public pipe Elllington said it may be unclear who would be responsible for any necessary repairs.

“If I receive a determination at any point that it is an erosion issue and a public safety issue and there’s a battle over who has to pay for what I would probably first contact the village solicitor, but in the interest of public safety, my initial thought is fix it and fight over it later so nobody is injured or killed,” Ellington said.

Village Solicitor Laura Abrams said while state Route 125 may be a state road, the Ohio Department of Transportation generally will not accept responsibility for anything beyond six inches below the road.