Dennis Kramer Royerton Sewer System collection

In early 1994, the Delaware County Board of Health took approximately 40 water samples in the unincorporated town of Royerton, located just north of Muncie. More than 30 samples showed evidence of E. coli bacteria, an indication that untreated human waste was getting into the water supply. Residents of Royerton had been complaining since 1992 about free standing raw sewage in their yards and, in late 1994, petitioned the Muncie Sanitary District to extend sewer lines. The 600 homes affected by the bacteria were denied because Royerton is outside of district boundaries. Dennis Kramer was one of these Royerton residents affected by the sewage system and would eventually become a supporter in the fight for a new system.

A year later, Delaware County Commissioners finally agreed to provide a $50,000 grant from the county’s economic development income tax fund. This grant would pay for a facility plan to build sewers in the Royerton area, as well as complete a feasibility study. In 1996, after scrapping the original plans due Royerton residents’ outrage at proposed sewage costs, the search for a new company to install the Hamilton Township sewer system began.

In 1998, surveys of the area to prepare for final design plans and specifications were under way, with construction beginning in spring of 1999. Since then, the cost of the Royerton sewer system has risen to almost 15 million dollars. The project has been plagued with cost overruns, construction problems and defects, and as of March 2006 has yet to be completed.