Marion Municipal Utilities

Marion, Indiana

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Engineering / System Maintenance

General Information

Responsibilities:

• Design / construction of new water / sanitary / storm mains:

• Rehabilitation and replacement of old mains;

• Maintain system information (GIS);

• Issuance of connection permits and tap inspections;

• Water / sewer locates;

• Responsible for the maintenance of sanitary and storm water collection systems.

Storm water / Sanitary Sewer Separation

Sewer overflows and backups can cause health hazards, constrain economic growth, and result in long-term environmental damage.

Water and sewer mains in Marion date back to the 1890's.  At that time, it was common practice to combine sanitary sewage and storm water runoff into the same pipe (combined sewer).  In order to relieve the system and prevent flooding during heavy rains, overflows were built at various points along rivers and streams.  This practice continued until the early 1970's when the "Clean Water Act" halted the construction of new combined sewers.  Currently, the US EPA and Indiana Department of Environmental Management are requiring cities with these combination sewer overflows to reduce and virtually eliminate overflow events.  However, a large portion of the storm water in a combination sewer originates on private property from sources such as down spouts and sump pumps.  In an effort to comply with this requirement, in 1997 Marion Utilities started a program of smoke testing sewer systems to identify sources of storm water.  Additionally, Marion Utilities averages approximately one million per year in construction on storm water separation projects and to strengthen the existing storm and sanitary systems.

Common defects on private services include such things as:

For more information regarding any of the above, 

please contact us at (765) 664-2391, ext 121