BATAVIA, Ohio – At its April 1 meeting, the Clermont County Board of Commissioners approved a ditch petition from two homeowners in Miami Township’s Orchard Valley subdivision, creating a stormwater district.
Filed in May 2014 by homeowners Robert and Donna Wetick and Diane Welch after a stormwater pipe collapsed on their properties, the ditch petition sought to create a stormwater district that would levy assessments among all 200 homeowners in the subdivision.
Ditch petitions are allowed under Ohio Revised Code. If approved, the county then is responsible for the repair and maintenance of the pipes, and levies are assessed to property owners to cover those costs.
Two public hearings were held to allow Orchard Valley homeowners to voice their support or dissent. The Clermont County Commissioners asked County Engineer Pat Manger to present a plan that would limit the district to those owners whose properties were in the same drainage basin as the damaged pipes.
The ditch petition that was approved April 1 includes 64 property lots. Those in the district will be assessed approximately $71 a year. Of that, $61 will go toward the repair of the pipes (over 10 years) and $10 will go into a maintenance fund.
