Septic systems in the Village of Leonard seem to be failing, and the community may eventually need to build waste water treatment plant.
But, village President Geno Mallia, Jr. said there’s not much they can do about it right now.
Mallia said the village was alerted at a meeting this past September by Oakland County Environmental Health Services (EHS) and the Drain Commission that drain water ‘levels in the village were showing higher than normal concentrations of bacteria.?
The higher concentrations of bacteria were found in two enclosed storm drains on the east and west sides of the village.
The storm drains, called Leonard Drain and Clark Drain, start to the north of downtown and run south, eventually hitting Lakeville Lake.
Ron Fadoir, an Environmental Planner for the Drain Commission of Oakland County, said they traced the high counts from the Clark Drain back to the downtown area and sampled the water from manholes along Elmwood.
He said they found bacteria counts almost 10 times higher than the limit of 1,000 CFUs (colony forming units) allowed in the state water quality level.
‘I think one of them was almost approaching one million right in the downtown area,? he said.
Fadoir said the Drain Commission alerted the EHS of the high counts, and found the failing septic system at Rowland Hall may have been overflowing into the storm drain system.
‘It’s an old, old system that we don’t even know when it was put in,? Mallia said. ‘We found that it was not capable of taking the day-to-day use that it has over the past or (at) any of the special events.?
The village decided to restrict the town hall to meetings and the clerk’s use only.
‘We’ve simply ceased to operate that and stop that problem right now and disconnected the tap between the storm drain and the septic field,? Mallia said.
So far, the village president said the drainage problems haven’t affected residents. But if a resident wanted to install a new septic field it ‘probably wouldn’t be approved? in certain areas on the east side of the village because the parcels are too small to allow it.
If there’s enough failing septic systems in the village, which could take a while to determine, Fadoir said it would be inevitable that a waste water treatment plant would have to be built.
For now, the village president said they just have to wait.
‘We haven’t gone any further than that,? Mallia said. ‘We haven’t started any official studies yet because that all becomes monetary and we’re a small village and can only afford so much.?
But there are those willing to help.
Just last week, the Addison Township Board of Trustees voted unanimously to contribute $8,737 of their 2007 Community Development Block Grant monies to help fund an initial engineering study for Leonard.
Although he knows the village needs an engineering study before they can begin to fix any of the problems, Mallia said he’s not sure exactly how much one will cost, but said it could be anywhere from $100,000 to $320,000.
Representatives from Oakland County’s EHS, Drain Commission and Department of Environmental Quality will be presenting ideas to the village the beginning of next year, Mallia said. He stressed that the septic issue is ‘always going to be on the back burner? and that ‘it’s not something we’re going to rush right into.?
‘If we want to keep our waters clean and our lakes pristine, we’re gonna have to do this (eventually),? he said. ‘We haven’t pursued it much further at this point in time.?