Franklin Township trustees learn about water pollution

Nora Hiland of the SCWD talked about soil runoff, especially if there is no vegetation on the land.

“The biggest polluter of streams is sediment,” she said.

To explain how sediment gets into streams, she poured water into a pot of soil and a like amount into a pot with grass. Water seeped out of both pots into the tray in which they were sitting. The water in the tray with just the soil held some of the soil from the pot while the water in the tray with the pot that had the grass in the soil was still clear.

She also talked about the importance of keeping trash cleaned up.

“If trash isn’t put someplace, it will land up in the streams,” she said.

Paul Wenning from the county Board of Health advised the trustees that the task of finding locations where sewage dumps into streams should be completed this year.

“We’ll be able to trace the sewage back to what house it came from and have them (homeowners) fix the sewer,” Wenning said.

Wenning said a long-term goal is to have all residences hooked up to sewers, but could not give a definite timeline for when that would happen. He also said residents outside the Columbus city limits would not be able to get city water unless they annex to the city.

At the start of the meeting, township Police Chief Mike Castle administered the oath of office to two men who start July 4 as police officers. Both Keith Walker and Joe Mullins have some law enforcement background.

Mullins, 33, has police experience in Clinton Township, South Bloomfield and Valleyview, while Walker, 27, has been an auxiliary officer for the sheriff’s department. This will give the township 10 officers working for Chief Castle.

Township resident Juanita Kaufman, representing the Westbrook-Eastbrook Neighborhood Association, told commissioners about several residences around her property that have high grass and asked what could be done. She gave trustees specific addresses for them to look into.