NEWHALL, Iowa - A water battle with a looming deadline is dividing the Benton County community of Newhall. This fight is about storm water runoff and whether some homes in the community of 875 are illegally diverting that water into the town’s sanitary sewage system.

The issue actually began back in 2009 when members of the Newhall city council passed an ordinance requiring an inspection of every single home for illegal drainage hookups. Both federal and state plumbing rules make it illegal to connect groundwater drainage to sanitary sewers in every city.

That Newhall ordinance gave a December 31, 2011 deadline for contacting the city about a free plumbing inspection. The idea was two years would give people plenty of time to comply. Instead, opponents are getting more organized as the deadline approaches amid some fears the city will go through with threats to shut off water service to those homes that aren’t inspected.

Mayor-elect Jan Mattson said a lot of misinformation has surfaced as the deadline approaches. But he said the problem is most obvious at the city’s sewage lagoons on the west edge of town. After heavy rains or snows, the lagoons swells with about the same amount of sewage you’d expect to see in Vinton. That nearby town is about six times the size of Newhall.

Mattson said the problem is groundwater getting into the city’s sanitary sewer pipes where it doesn’t belong. And once it’s in the sewage system, it must be treated at extra expense to the community and taxpayers.

“Everything that goes through there has to be treated,” Mattson said adding “it’s costing the city extra dollars for treatment and labor so we’re just trying to get in compliance.

Mattson said the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has criticized Newhall about the excess release of sewage water and either wants the town to build a much larger treatment facility or control the groundwater getting into the current system.

City leaders agree some of the groundwater is getting into the sewage system through breaks in sewer pipes that run under city streets. But leaders also think a large amount is coming from gutters, drain tiles around the foundations of homes and sump pumps that are illegally connected to the town’s sewer lines. That’s what prompted the calls for an every home inspection and correction if problems are found.

But opponents worry about the potential cost. Gerald Gessner, a member of the city council, used his own home as an example. Gessner said when it was built in the 1960’s the city actually wanted owners to hook up every drain to sanitary sewer lines. That federal plumbing rule changed in the early 1970’s.

Gessner said in his case his drain tile, hooked into the sewer line, runs under his garage foundation and a patio. He estimates it might take $25,000 to $30,000 to correct the problem at his own home.

Gessner said “we’re (opponents) threatened all the time we’ll get our water shutoff because we’re not doing this. And that is ridiculous that they want to shut water off on people.”

But fellow council Bill Much disagreed with that statement. Much said “we’re not going to cut anybody’s water off. Basically, the deadline was put in there to try to get people moving.”

Much’s home also had an illegal hookup of drain tiles. But he got a contractor to dig up and cap the line and plans to install a sump pit in his basement on his own. He figures the total cost will run about $800.

Much said the city has set aside grant money to help lower-income residents pay for the cost of correcting any illegal hookups. He also said the city will just send out letters to those who haven’t arranged for inspections by the December 31st deadline. And he said any threat of a water shutoff is just a last resort.

But opponents don’t put a lot of faith in that statement.

Council member Gessner said several people opposed to the city’s storm water connection rules ran for the council and won. He expects the new council members to join him in trying to revise the city ordinance when the new council begins meeting in January.