“Obviously, there’s an odor. Nobody wants raw sewage going through their neighborhood,” said Wick, who lives in Lanier Twp. between West Alexandria and Eaton.
Documentation from Preble County and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency shows the source of the raw sewage is Quaker Trace Mobile Home Park off U.S. 35.
“Their overflow is ... hand-dug trenches, allowing the overflow to go into county ditches, which in turn comes down through out neighborhood and eventually ends up in Bantas Fork Creek here east of us,” Wick said.
The Ohio EPA said they inspected the mobile home community in June. They sent a notice of violation to the park’s owner to correct the issue.
The owner could not be reached for comment, but he told the Ohio EPA he hired a contractor and that the sewage work will be finished next month.
Wick’s problem is just a more visual example of an issue that’s underground in certain parts of the county.
“We’ve been fully aware of certain, what I call hot spots,” Preble County Commissioner Rodney Creech said. “There’s several areas in our community that I can take you to after a 2- to 3-inch rain and there’s dirty water on top of the ground.
“We know we have a problem. We know it. We’re not trying to run from it. We’re not trying to deny it,” Creech said.
The Ohio EPA said they’re working with the county to solve the sewage discharge issues.
One solution is to tie homeowners into a sewer district. But there’s still some discussion whether that’s the most affordable method.
Meanwhile, the Ohio EPA said they will follow up with the Quaker Trace Mobile Park owner to make sure the sewage issue there is fixed.
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