MAUMEE, Ohio — The city of Maumee is trying to fix a problem it says dates back decades: sewer lines.
"Years ago, the city discombined its sanitary and storm systems, but allowed homes to remain to give that same water to convey into the sanitary system," said city administrator Patrick Burtch. "That's where the biggest problem lies here."
Maumee City Council on June 17 unanimously passed Ordinance 020-2024 via an emergency vote. It requires that sewer line connections on all properties within the city go through inspections and get fixed if there are problems.
According to Burtch, the process of inspections is already well underway.
"I believe we've done 15 inspections in the last two days," he said.
But that's just a small glimpse into the work ahead for the city.
"Not many are passing because many have old clay tile sewers with roots in them that tell us that the sewer is broke, which means with heavy rain you have high groundwater — we have high groundwater in Maumee — that's getting directly into our sanitary sewer system through people's leads," Burtch said.
Burtch says the ordinance is going through a slow roll-out, with homes for sale being the first to be inspected.
This has brought up concerns from local realtors, though, who say they wish the city would have given them more notice prior.
"Having more time to be able to understand what the real impact is on us, our clients and how we can make that compliance happen within a certain amount of time," said Eddie Campos, president of Northwest Ohio Realtors.
Inspections cost $100 for the first hour and $200 for every additional hour, according to the city.
For homes looking to close sales, an inspection must be done within 10 days before the closing date.
Campos told WTOL 11 the Northwest Ohio Realtors is estimated to have 49 homes under contract in Maumee for the month of July.
So to him, the new ordinance may slow things down and add on another expense.
"It's not just one thing that needs to get accomplished. It could possibly be several things that need to get accomplished and it could be a situation where those dollars could exceed what a seller is willing to pay for," he said.
But Burtch says the matter is urgent.
"We know it creates a lot of worry and consternation, and believe me, council recognizes that," he said. "It's just a matter of doing the right thing and we're there."