WAVERLY, Ohio — The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency issued a formal notice of violation to the City of Waverly’s public water system on Friday, citing five separate violations discovered during a sanitary survey conducted in February, and the agency’s accompanying inspection letter reveals a much longer list of infrastructure problems that officials say need attention.
The notice, addressed to Mayor Richard Henderson and dated March 13, 2026, gives the city 30 days to respond in writing with a plan to correct each violation. Failure to comply could result in administrative or civil penalties under Ohio law.
What inspectors found
Environmental specialists with the Ohio EPA’s Southeast District Office conducted the survey on February 19 and 25.
Among the formal violations cited:
One of the water treatment plant’s two clarifiers is completely out of service. Inspectors found that an obstructed interior line has cut off flow to the unit, leaving the city operating with only half of its clarifier capacity. The city must repair or replace the line to bring the second clarifier back online.
Both finished water storage tanks have inoperable cathodic protection devices — equipment designed to prevent corrosion and extend the life of the tanks. The Ohio EPA ordered the city to repair or replace them.
The interior of the Grandview finished water storage tank has not been inspected in more than a decade. State rules require regular inspection; Ohio EPA is ordering the city to inspect and clean or repair the tank based on what the inspection finds.
The city also failed to maintain required documentation showing that emergency response scenarios outlined in its contingency plan had been practiced. State rules require water systems to exercise at least one scenario annually and to work through all identified emergency circumstances over a five-year period.
Finally, the city’s Asset Management Program — a planning document required to demonstrate the long-term viability of the water system — is incomplete. Inspectors found that most of the distribution system’s assets are missing from the inventory entirely.
A longer list of concerns
Beyond the formal violations, Ohio EPA’s companion inspection letter issued the same day catalogued 19 separate recommendations — items the agency said do not rise to the level of orders but represent significant concerns about the system’s condition and operation.
Perhaps the most striking: the city’s water system is losing roughly 28% of all water it processes before it ever reaches a customer. The Ohio EPA recommends water loss be kept below 15%. Inspectors noted that not all service connections — including city-owned buildings — are metered, making it difficult to even calculate the full extent of the loss.
Other recommendations included:
- Repairing corrosion found on filters, both clarifiers, recarb tanks, the lime feed system, and associated piping throughout the plant. Inspectors noted oxidation on metal components in multiple areas of the facility.
- Separating chlorine gas and fluoride chemical feeds, which are currently stored and operated out of the same room — a setup Ohio EPA wants corrected in any future plant upgrades.
- Installing a day tank on the fluoride feed system to guard against accidental overfeeds.
- Repairing a damaged fence around the SR 220 finished water storage tank, where a fallen tree limb has left a breach in the perimeter. Inspectors also noted deteriorating caulking at the base of the same tank.
- Inspecting roof penetrations on finished water storage tanks every six months to ensure screens are intact and contaminants cannot enter.
- Repairing corrosion on the casing of Well 4.
- Installing a flow meter at the Grandview booster station, which currently has none, and evaluating one of the station’s pumps for possible rebuild or repair.
- Installing emergency backup power or a quick-connect generator hookup at the Grandview booster station, which currently has no emergency power capability.
- Developing and implementing both a leak detection program and a service meter calibration and replacement program to combat unaccounted-for water loss.
- Fixing a GIS application used to track valve maintenance that was not functioning at the time of inspection.
- Ensuring at least one city employee receives training in backflow prevention — an area where the city currently has no trained staff.
What happens next
The city has 30 days from March 13 to submit a written compliance plan to the Ohio EPA outlining how and on what timeline it intends to address each formal violation.