Darmstadt Sewer Utility
Darmstadt owns & maintains it's own gravity & pressurized sewer system.
About 99% of the homes and businesses in Darmstadt are served &
maintained by this system. This system was installed years ago in a
required compliance with the Federal Clean Water Act.
Growing public awareness and concern for controlling water pollution led to enactment of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. As amended in 1977, this law became commonly known as the Clean Water Act. The Act established the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States. It gave EPA the authority to implement pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry.
How our system works:
Our liquid sewage flows from our home through to our septic tanks. Each homeowner's septic tank holds all the solids and then what we call 'gray water' continues to flow out the sewer pipes to your sewer pump (where the gray electrical box with lights are) which may be located on your property or an adjacent property.
The sewer pump then pumps the liquid sewage out of Darmstadt through two large flow meters that are located in town. These two flow meters measure the amount of sewage in millions of gallons that has passed through them as it flows south to the Evansville Water & Sewer Department where it is treated.
We pay Evansville Water & Sewer Department a monthly fee to treat the sewage that leaves Darmstadt.
Sewer Maintenance:
We have two full-time employees who do their best to maintain our sewer system and make sure it is operating effectively & efficiently at all times.
Our sewer maintenance crew is on call 24/7 for sewer emergencies. Call 867-1413 anytime you experience sewer problems, lights flashing on your sewer pump box or backups in your home.
Current Sewer Rates:
Sewage Rate for metered customers (on Evansville or German Township Water) is $11.80 per every 1000 gallons.
Electric Charge (to run your sewer pump) is a flat fee of $9.30
*Please note, some sewer pumps are directly connected to homeowner's electric and therefore is not charged separately on sewer billing.
Administration Charge for metered customers is a flat fee of $4.70
How your sewer bill is calculated:
Evansville Water Customers- You are billed for sewage directly based on the water consumption reported to us from the Evansville Water Department each month when they read your water meter. You receive your water bill from Evansville Water Department about a month before you receive your sewer bill from the Town of Darmstadt. You can find your water usage amount, recorded in 1000's of gallons on your water bill, this is the same number we use to calculate your sewer usage. We round to the nearest 1000 gallons.
If you keep track of your water bills, you can calculate what your sewer bill will be for the following month using our current town rates.*
German Township Water Customers- You are billed for sewage directly based on the water consumption reported to us from German Township Water each month. You receive your water bill from German Township Water Department about the same time or a little after you receive your sewer bill from the Town of Darmstadt. Your water usage amount is recorded per 1000 gallons toward the top of your water bill, this is the number we use to calculate your sewer usage. We round to the nearest 1000 gallons.
If you keep track of your water bills, you can calculate what your sewer bill will be using our current town rates.*
Well Water Users-Your sewage charge is a flat rate.
*Note, this is a good way to catch any leaks or misread meters before it is reported to the Darmstadt Sewer Department.
Helpful Hint:
If you notice that your water bill is higher than normal and you suspect a leak or misread water meter, you need to contact your water company immediately to have the issue resolved before it is reported & calculated the following month on your sewer bill.
Evansville Water Department:
436-7846
German Township Water:
963-6403
Darmstadt Sewer Billing:
963-6760
Want to save money?!
April 2008
Dear Darmstadt Residents,
The Town Council has initiated an extensive sewer maintenance program. This letter will explain the activities to be performed over the next 4 years and beyond. We are committed to an aggressive Preventative Maintenance program for the sewer system. Our goal with this program is to reduce our sewer cost. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
There are some homes in Darmstadt without street addresses on mail boxes and homes. We would appreciate homeowners numbering their mail boxes to help the contractor pumping the tanks to find your home.
The Town of Darmstadt sewers are a forced main sewer system that collects gray water that over flows from 538 septic tanks. About 450 of these homes purchase 2.7MM gallons of water monthly from Evansville Water and German Township Water District. Additionally there are 88 customers on wells.
We estimate that we could be sending 3.5MM gallons of gray water to Evansville with the combination of purchased water and wells. Evansville bills Darmstadt on the total amount of water that is sent to them, via flow meters located just west of the railroad tracks on the east side of town, one on Boonville-New Harmony Road and one on Old State Road.
These meters were installed in October of 2007. Since their installation the average monthly reading has been 4.5MM gallons. We pay for the gallons measured through these meters. Since this differs dramatically from what we purchase, we are undertaking an extensive maintenance program, that will hopefully reduce our sewer cost to Evansville.
The additional amount is from the influence of ground water. This can be via many different ways.
• Rain runoff getting into septic tank covers
• Man hole covers not sealed properly
• Broken lines before or after septic tanks
• Gutters connected to septic tanks
• Sump pumps connected to septic tanks
The Town will begin an extensive program, to correct these problems. This will include:
1. Pumping septic tanks
2. This will be done over a 4 year period. Click here to view schedule.
3. If needed, replace outlet baffle, that is located between tank and lift station well.
4. We will then perform a smoke test, this will push smoke into the lines that will show line breaks and gutters connected to the sewer system.
5. If problems are found between the tank and your home, you will receive a letter from the Town Council as to the extent of what was found and what must be done to correct the situation identified.
6. Any issues found from the tank to the sewer mains, will be the responsibility of the Town and we will correct these as required. The smoke should not enter the premises unless a leak is present.
7. The presence of smoke in your house should be reported immediately to the personnel conducting the tests.
8. The smoke is relatively harmless but may be irritating to nasal passages. Any smoke irritation will be temporary and should quickly disappear after exposure has ceased. Persons with heart and respiratory ailments should leave the house during the test. House pets will react in a manner similar to a prudent person and leave the smokey area. If an exit is not available, be sure pets are provided with proper ventilation.
9. To minimize the chance of smoke entering your house, please pour water into all drains including floor drains prior to the date of the test.
Our Town Council Meetings are every 2nd Tuesday
each month @ 7:30pm
located in our Town Hall at 559 Hoing Road.
We encourage all our residents to attend!
Sewer Maintenance Project:
Darmstadt, Indiana
