Grass, leaves can’t be put on city streets

The City of Ironton Health Department will soon begin citing people who put leaves, grass clippings and other debris into the streets.

The issue is that the waste gets into the stormwater system and does damage to the system’s equipment which makes it harder to treat the wastewater.

The citations could begin as soon as next week or the week after.

“We are going to start citing people into court,” said Bobbi Conrad, the health department’s environmental health director. “It is a misdemeanor of the third degree, punishable by 60 days in jail and a fine between $300-750. It just depends how many times they get cited into court, it goes up each time they get cited. And they will have to pay court costs, too.”

Health Commissioner Laura Brown said that they do not want city residents to blow leaves or grass clippings into the streets.

“They need to rake leaves up,” she said, adding that yard waste can be taken to a city compost pile by calling the mayor’s office and making an appointment to transport their leaves there.

The city will not pick it up. “Or they can get their own compost going, they can recycle their own leaves and grass.”

She said yard waste is tearing up the sewer system.

“The infrastructure under our city keeps getting clogged up and the pumps keep working as hard as they are, if the pumps can go down,” she said. “We are going to lose the ability to use our sewer systems. We need to be more cautious about recycling and reusing.”

At one time, the city did allow residents to pile their leaves in the street and city workers would pick them up, but with a smaller city staff, that is no longer possible.

“That was a good service back in those days, but we no longer have that anymore,” Brown said. “So we need to readjust. People need to start taking care of their properties because we are going to start citing people into court. We are going to start writing tickets.”

She said people need to sweep their sidewalks and rake up the leaves that fall.

“If those leaves fall into the streets, you need to sweep them up,” Brown said. “Simple as that.”

Dennis Gumbert, wastewater treatment plant superintendent, said that another thing that causes issues is decomposition of leaves and grass creatures nitrogen that can lead to blue-green algae.

He said that the wastewater system’s outfall pipes will be monitored for things like nitrogen and fertilizer like they are for mercury and phosphorous because of the algae issue.

He said two years ago, the Ohio River had the biggest case of blue green algae ever.

“If it happens again, the cost to managing that, not only through the wastewater management plant but through the outfall, the cost will be astronomical,” Gumbert said.

Brown said that the citations would be hand delivered by an Ironton Police officer and Conrad.

“Court dates will be the following Monday in Ironton Municipal Court,” she said.