Scio Township bought 26 acres bordered by Jackson Road and I-94 in mid-November, giving the township enough property for future facilities expansion.

One potential use is a new sewage treatment plant if the township decides to create its own water utilities department, officials said.

That’s one option under consideration as the township weighs boosting sewer capacity on its own instead of continuing to buy services from Ann Arbor.

The land - located east of Baker Road - is in an industrial area.

“We thought it was a good time to acquire property that wasn’t in the middle of development,” said Darrel Fecho, township manager. “It has all kinds of potential.”

Both DTE and ITC are seeking property for electrical substations nearby, Fecho said, and the township could lease part of the land to either utility. “It (also) gives us options available for sewage treatment and expansion of the public works department, if that happens.”

The township is studying sewer issues and has appointed a standing committee. Issues over time have included capacity, expansion and costs.

As development expanded in the township, access to water and sewer lines along Jackson Road became a pressing issue. This is particularly true as new projects led to a capacity shortfall for other property that had been promised sewer access when the system expanded along Jackson Road.

A recent study of how much more capacity would be needed if the Jackson Road corridor is fully built-out according to the master plan concluded that at least 2,500 “residential equivalent units” or REUs would be needed, said Marty Mayo, township planning commissioner.

One REU represents 300 gallons per day - meaning there’s a potential shortfall of 750,000 gallons per day.

According to the township, the contract with Ann Arbor caps capacity at 2.05 million gallons per day.

The sewer committee has explored options for the township, concluding “that only two options were truly viable for the Township … requesting additional capacity from the City of Ann Arbor and … building a Scio-only plant to provide treatment services to all sewer districts within the Township,” according to township documents.

The township’s sewer contract with Ann Arbor expires in 5 years, and it needs to notify the city if it will continue the contract by Jan. 1, 2010.

The township recently received a verbal agreement from the city to extend that until Jan. 1, 2011, Fecho said.

“There’s no decision yet,” regarding the township pursuing its own sewage treatment plant, Fecho said. “The committee will meet when we get a response from Ann Arbor.”

Meanwhile, Fecho said, the township is also notifying the Michigan Department of Transportation it would like to purchase three acres of excess I-94 right-of-way property next to the property and I-94.

The 26 acres had been listed for $2.1 million and sold for about $1.7 million.

Its assessed value in 2009 was $861,700, down $60,000 from 2008.

John Evans of Swisher Commercial listed the property. The sellers were Gene and Gary Smith of Chelsea, according to county records.