Warren County commissioners are set to vote Tuesday, Sept. 22, on a new policy that would reimburse homeowners for water main break damage, expanding beyond the current sewer-only rules.

The Warren County Board of Commissioners is considering a resolution to repeal the existing sewer-only reimbursement rule and replace it with a broader Property Damage Claims and Reimbursement Policy. The change, listed on the Sept. 22 meeting agenda, would cover both sewer backup and water main break incidents under a single set of rules.

As we reported Sept. 20, the policy overhaul follows a water main break on Rose Road in Deerfield Township in September 2025 that damaged the home of Susan McDaniel at 2520 Rose Road. Commissioners Tom Grossmann, Shannon Jones and David Young voted unanimously on Sept. 1 to reimburse McDaniel $16,287 for costs her homeowner's insurance did not cover.

The county's insurance carrier, CORSA, had denied McDaniel's claim, determining the county had no legal liability absent negligence. State Farm, McDaniel's insurer, covered a portion of the damage but left the $16,287 balance.

That case exposed a gap in county rules.

The old policy, Section 4.15 of the Warren County Water and Sewer Department's rules, applied only to sewer backups. Water main breaks had no formal reimbursement process.

Chris Brausch, the department's sanitary engineer, told commissioners at the Sept. 1 meeting 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." He proposed raising the standard reimbursement to up to $2,500 for insurance deductibles, with additional payments possible case by case.

Commissioners directed Brausch and legal counsel to draft the new policy. The result is the proposed Section 7.08, scheduled for a vote at Tuesday's 9 a.m. meeting at 406 Justice Drive in Lebanon.

The full text of the new policy's eligibility criteria and claim procedures has not been released publicly. The policy would apply to the department's more than 28,000 water customers and more than 18,000 sewer customers.

The Sept. 24 commissioners meeting has been cancelled. Tuesday's meeting is scheduled to be livestreamed on the Warren County Board of Commissioners YouTube channel.