The Institute for Local Government Administration and Rural Development (ILGARD) at Ohio University's Voinovich Center for Leadership and Public Affairs
Networks for Rural Policy Development Project
Models for Rural Sewer and Water Infrastructure
The Institute for Local Government Administration and Rural Development (ILGARD) at the Ohio University Voinovich Center for Leadership and Public Affairs has recently received a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to identify wastewater and water infrastructure policy issues and their implications for rural community and economic development.
Historically, a lack of adequate sewer and water services has been a problem in Ohio's rural Appalachian communities. Examples of some of the problems include 1) diminished opportunities for economic development, 2) environmental contamination, and 3) quality of life concerns. The most commonly cited quality of life concerns are health effects (contaminated streams and drinking water), lack of adequate water volume and pressure for normal household chores (laundry, etc.) and annoyance factors (smells from improperly functioning septic tanks).
Part of the Kellogg project initiative involves gaining an understanding of all the possible opportunities for successful wastewater and water infrastructure development. To this end, ILGARD has done extensive research into other rural area's best management practices (BMP), in order to create this information packet that can supply you with a comprehensive list of available models for implementation. We have summarized these best management practices and we would like to share the results and findings with you.
Best Management Practices are programs, situations, or circumstances that have been proven to be effective over time. The following are a list of programs/model descriptions that other areas throughout the United States have used successfully. They serve as models that have the potential to be applied to areas within Appalachian Ohio.
All Models Used within this packet follow the same general format: 1) Problem, 2) Solutions 3) Outcomes, 4) Opportunities, 5) Obstacles, 6) Program Operation Information, and 7) Project Contact. This format is modeled after the Appalachian Regional Commission - ARC's Best Practices in Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Development.
