Warsaw is the only MS4 community in Kosciusko County and that designation means the city is mandated to follow guidelines set by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer Systems – also known as MS4 programs – are defined “as a conveyance or system of conveyances owned by a state, city, town or other public entity that discharges to waters of the United States and is designed or used for collecting or conveying storm water. Regulated conveyance systems include roads with drains, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, storm drains, piping, channels, ditches, tunnels and conduits. It does not include combined sewer overflows and publicly owned treatment works.”

Warsaw has mandated responsibilities under the MS4 program, those include inspecting stormwater infrastructures and monitoring stormwater quality. Also, the program requires the city to raise awareness to educate the general public on stormwater management.

To satisfy their obligations, the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety today agreed to contract with Grace College’s Kosciusko Lakes and Streams. Under the agreement, KLAS student interns will be responsible for field screening on nearly 180 of the city’s 250 stormwater outfalls, conducting educational programs in area elementary schools and continuing with public awareness projects and programs such as the Northern Indiana Lakes Festival.

The contract with KLAS requires the city to pay a fee of not more than $5,500. Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer said of the agreement, “Nate Bosch (director of KLAS) and his group is perfect to partner with us on this.”

Also under business concerning the Waste Water Treatment Utility:

• a contract with Everest Excavating Inc. for $9,594.71 was approved. Everest Excavating was the lesser of two bids for replacing a sewer line along Holiday Drive near the Work Release Center.
• a contract was approved with Wastewater Solutions Inc. for $38,900. The contract is for WSI to evaluate Warsaw’s wastewater utilities to improve plant performance and consistency and to reduce overhead and maintenance costs, to provide field and workshop training and to identify alternatives for meeting future phosphorus removal permit limits.
• pay applications in the amount of $174,561.66 and $195,895.80 were approved to All Star Construction Inc. and Grand River Construction Inc. respectively. All Star was paid for engineering and services for a force main on Center Street while Grand River’s fees covered engineering and services on the Center Street pump station.

The B.O.W. meets the first and third Fridays of each month at 10:30 a.m.