Warren County homeowners could soon qualify for up to $2,500 in reimbursement after a water main break on county-owned infrastructure. The Warren County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to vote on the policy change Tuesday, Sept. 1.

The resolution would replace the county Water and Sewer Department's existing sewer backup reimbursement rule with a broader Property Damage Claims and Reimbursement Policy. Chris Brausch, the department's sanitary engineer, is presenting the proposal.

Several recent water main breaks have hit Deerfield Township. Warren County Water reported a break on Lebanon Road on April 23, followed by breaks on Rich Road on June 9, on Western Row and Socialville-Foster Road on June 24, and on Beal Road and Weidner Road on June 25.

Under the current rule, known as Section 4.15, the county reimburses homeowners only for damage caused by sewer main backups. The $2,500 cap applies, and homeowners who choose not to file an insurance claim are excluded entirely.

The proposed Section 7.08 makes two significant changes.

First, it adds water main breaks on county-owned transmission or distribution lines as a qualifying incident alongside sewer backups. Second, it removes the blanket exclusion for homeowners who skip filing an insurance claim. Under the new language, those homeowners can still be considered for reimbursement up to $2,500 by submitting cleanup invoices, receipts and itemized expenses.

Homeowners who do file insurance claims would need to provide a letter from their carrier verifying the deductible, a copy of the claim settlement and copies of all cleanup receipts. Homeowners without insurance coverage can also apply, though the policy notes that "failure to maintain homeowner's insurance may be considered in evaluating future reimbursement requests."

The $2,500 per-incident cap stays the same. Total reimbursement combined with insurance proceeds cannot exceed the property's documented repair costs.

The policy does not cover damage from privately owned sewer laterals, private plumbing, sump pumps, foundation drains, customer-owned service lines or irrigation systems. Property owners must sign a release of all claims before receiving payment.

Requests exceeding $2,500 or seeking an exception would go to the Board of Commissioners for case-by-case review. Any payment the county authorizes is classified as a discretionary goodwill payment, not an admission of liability.

Commissioners Tom Grossmann, Shannon Jones and David Young are listed on the Sept. 1 agenda. The meeting can be streamed live on the Warren County Board of Commissioners YouTube channel.

Residents with questions can contact the Warren County Water and Sewer Department at 513-695-1377 or visit water.warrencountyohio.gov.