Rocky Ridge Facility Planning Area
Designated Management Agency Responsibilities:
- Rocky Ridge: Responsible for planning public sewerage system; and will own and operate it if, and when built.
IV-Rocky Ridge-Figure 1: Area Map
IV-Rocky Ridge-Table 1: Area Population
Area / 2010 / 2040Rocky Ridge, entire jurisdiction / 417 / 371
Total Population inside the FPA boundary / 421 / 374
Present Facilities
The Village of Rocky Ridge does not have a treatment or a collection system and has been identified as having health problems due to the presence of septic tank effluent in the local ditches. Rocky Ridge School has a 2,000 gpd package plant; otherwise, the village is served by individual septic systems, many of which are believed to be failing.
Package plants located in the FPA are listed in Table 2.
IV-Rocky Ridge-Table 2: Package Plants in the Facility Planning Area
Package Plant / Status / Install or Upgrade Date / NPDES Permit / Capacity, gpdZinser Homestead / Inactive / 1984 / 2PT00029 / 2,100
Issues
Rocky Ridge’s need for a public sewerage system has been long documented.[1] The town is not under orders, however, and there is no currently active project.
The Toussaint River TMDL[2] notes, “Further downstream at Rocky Ridge Road (RM 10.45), fecal coliform bacteria levels exceeded the PCR [Primary Contact Recreation] criterion on one occasion and strontium levels remained elevated. Bacteria levels were likely influenced by the discharge of poorly treated sewage from the unsewered Village of Rocky Ridge.”
Future Needs
Rocky Ridge should prepare a General Plan to identify the most cost-effective sewerage option. Implementation should include preparing a financing plan that will make the system affordable to residents. An income survey may be needed to support grant and low interest loan applications.
Building sewers in Rocky Ridge would be expensive because of its shallow bedrock. On the positive side, the Village seems likely to qualify for grant programs. If a sewer system were built, the most likely treatment options would be:
- A new treatment plant for Rocky Ridge.
- Tap into the existing Oak Harbor system: the western edge of the Oak Harbor FPA is about 2.5 miles from the eastern corporate limits of Rocky Ridge.
The capital improvement schedule for the Rocky Ridge FPA is shown in Table 3.
IV-Rocky Ridge-Table 3: Capital Improvement Schedule – Rocky Ridge – FPA
Project / DMA / Total Cost / Annual Capital Improvement Needs2017 / 2018 / 2019 / 2020 / 2021 / 2022 / 2023
Sanitary Sewer Project / Ottawa County / TBD / X
Chapter 4-Rocky RidgeTMACOG Areawide Water Quality Management “208” Plan1
[1] Rocky Ridge Appropriate Technology Wastewater Collection and Treatment Facilities Plan; TMACOG, 1985
[2] Biological and Water Quality Study of the Toussaint River and Rusha Creek Basins Ohio EPA 2005, page 30