Warren County homeowners served by the county Water and Sewer Department could soon have a broader path to reimbursement when county infrastructure damages their property.

Commissioners Tom Grossmann, Shannon Jones and David Young will vote Tuesday, Sept. 22 on a new Property Damage Claims and Reimbursement Policy. The new Section 7.08 of the department's rules would replace the old Section 4.15, which covered only sewer backups. The updated policy adds water main breaks to the list of qualifying incidents, according to the resolution in the meeting agenda.

The reimbursement cap would remain at $2,500 per incident. Claims above that amount can still go before the three-member board for individual approval.

The policy change grew out of a Sept. 1 discussion in which Chris Brausch, the department's sanitary engineer, told commissioners that "the customer reimbursement policy has not been updated in several years and, due to an increase in weather-related incidents, should be re-evaluated." Commissioners directed Brausch to review the policy with legal counsel before bringing it back for a vote.

That review followed a costly real-world example in Deerfield Township. A water main break on Sept. 26, 2025 on Rose Road flooded Susan McDaniel's home at 2520 Rose Road. The county's insurance carrier, CORSA, denied coverage because it found no county negligence. McDaniel's insurer, State Farm, covered part of the damage, but commissioners on Sept. 1 approved a separate $16,287 reimbursement to cover her remaining costs.

The Warren County Post reported Sept. 5 that Brausch and Katie Horvath of the Warren County Prosecutor's Office said the new policy would formalize what the county had already been doing. The Post also reported that Commissioner Grossmann questioned whether a written policy could limit commissioners' existing discretion. Commissioner Young said at the Sept. 1 meeting that he wants residents who suffer damage through no fault of their own to be reimbursed as quickly and easily as possible.

The department serves more than 28,000 water customers and more than 18,000 sewer customers across Warren County, including Deerfield Township.

Commissioners also plan to cancel their regularly scheduled Thursday, Sept. 24 meeting. Tuesday's session can be streamed on the Warren County Board of Commissioners YouTube channel.