Pickerington's water, sewers and bathrooms, from a Violet Township village to a city of 23,000
Pickerington stayed a village of a few hundred people for eighty years of census counts, 696 in 1970, and then, by the city's account, built its first sewage plant in 1974, and it has since grown more than thirtyfold. This page sets out what the record shows, from the county histories to the city's own account of its plant and its expansions, with the census since 1890, when its houses were built, and where its water and sewage go now.
Last updated September 2026 · Records are the Census Bureau's and the county histories', with the City of Pickerington's own history marked as the city's, each read September 24, 2026 · No prices on this page; the Estimate Builder carries those · Part of the knowledge base
Abraham Pickering's town
The Fairfield County history of 1877 says the town was laid out by a Mr. Pickering, and the 1912 history names him as Abraham Pickering; neither gives a year. The city's own profile says it was established in 1815. The city's own audited financial report says Pickerington was incorporated as a village in 1881, adopted a village charter on November 4, 1980, and was declared a city on April 29, 1991. In the Ohio State Board of Health's reports from 1886 to 1913, Pickerington appears only in the lists of village health officers, with no report of its own on water or sewers. The valley of Sycamore Creek, the 1883 county history says, frequently suffered from inundation.
A village of a few hundred for eighty years
The census counted 290 people in Pickerington in 1890 and 696 in 1970; for eighty years it stayed a village of a few hundred. Then the count rose to 3,917 in 1980, more than five times as many in a decade, and it has grown in every census since, to 23,094 in 2020. The city's own figures sometimes differ from the census: its profile gives 18,301 for 2010, where the census counted 18,291.
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1890 | 290 |
| 1900 | 263 |
| 1910 | 310 |
| 1920 | 358 |
| 1930 | 366 |
| 1940 | 384 |
| 1950 | 433 |
| 1960 | 634 |
| 1970 | 696 |
| 1980 | 3,917 |
| 1990 | 5,668 |
| 2000 | 9,792 |
| 2010 | 18,291 |
| 2020 | 23,094 |
| Year | Housing units |
|---|---|
| 1970 | 229 |
| 1980 | 1,244 |
| 1990 | 2,159 |
| 2000 | 3,573 |
| 2010 | 6,680 |
| 2020 | 8,373 |
1974: the first sewage plant, and the boom
The city's own history of its water reclamation plant dates the first sewage treatment plant to 1974, at 525 Hill Road South, which the city says processed 580,000 gallons a day from a population of about 3,880 at that time, a figure that does not match the census, which counted 696 people in 1970 and 3,917 in 1980. It was expanded three times as the town grew. The same history gives the city's status as dating from 1991, at a population of about 5,645; the census had counted 5,668 in 1990, 23 of them on the Franklin County side of the line. These plant dates are the city's account, not a state record, and the year of Pickerington's first public water plant and wells was not found.
| Years | What was built | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | First sewage treatment plant, 525 Hill Road South | Processed 580,000 gallons a day, by the city's account |
| 1986 and 1987 | Expansion | 1.2 million gallons a day |
| 1997 and 1998 | Expansion | 2.58 million gallons a day |
| 2009 and 2010 | Expansion | 3.2 million gallons a day |
When Pickerington's houses were built
About nine in ten of Pickerington's homes were built after 1970. In the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 survey the median year built for its 8,882 housing units is 2003, plus or minus 2, a third were built from 2000 to 2009, and 2.6 percent were built in 1939 or earlier. What a house of the 1970s through the 2000s has behind the bathroom wall is on the pages on supply pipes by era and how Central Ohio houses were built by era.
| Built | Housing units |
|---|---|
| 2020 or later | 431 (4.9 percent) |
| 2010 to 2019 | 1,809 (20.4 percent) |
| 2000 to 2009 | 2,959 (33.3 percent) |
| 1990 to 1999 | 1,524 (17.2 percent) |
| 1980 to 1989 | 657 (7.4 percent) |
| 1970 to 1979 | 723 (8.1 percent) |
| 1960 to 1969 | 318, plus or minus 134 (3.6 percent) |
| 1950 to 1959 | 184, plus or minus 106 (2.1 percent) |
| 1940 to 1949 | 47, plus or minus 46 (0.5 percent) |
| 1939 or earlier | 230 (2.6 percent) |
Where the water and sewage go now
Pickerington draws its water from five wells at its plant west of Diley Road, in what its 2025 water quality report calls the Newark River aquifer, with emergency connections to Fairfield County's utilities at four points; one was used in August 2025. It treats its own sewage at the Hill Road plant, and part of the city is served by the Canal Winchester plant, as the page on water and sewer providers, town by town sets out. Its water hardness is on the page on water hardness beyond Columbus.
The short version. Pickerington was a village of a few hundred people from 1890 to 1970, 696 at the 1970 census. The city dates its first sewage treatment plant to 1974, processing 580,000 gallons a day, and expanded three times to 3.2 million, and its city status to 1991. The census counted 3,917 people in 1980 and 23,094 in 2020, and the median house was built in 2003. The city's financial report dates its incorporation as a village to 1881; the year of its first public water was not found.
Sources
Every figure, date and quotation on this page comes from one of these documents, read on the date given. Where two of them disagree, the page says so.
- City of Pickerington, Water Reclamation, City Profile and 2025 Consumer Confidence Report, the city's own account; read September 24, 2026.
- A. A. Graham, compiler, History of Fairfield and Perry Counties, Ohio, 1883; Charles C. Miller, History of Fairfield County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens, 1912; and Hervey Scott, A Complete History of Fairfield County, Ohio, 1877; read September 24, 2026.
- Ohio Auditor of State, City of Pickerington, Fairfield County, Regular Audit for the year ended December 31, 2001, Note 1; read September 25, 2026.
- Ohio State Board of Health, Annual Reports, 1886 to 1913, full text at the Internet Archive (items annualreportofst followed by the year and ohio), searched for Pickerington; read September 24, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau: 1900 Bulletin 41, 1920 Number of Inhabitants, Ohio, 1950 Volume I, Ohio, 1960 Volume I, Ohio, the 1990 and 2010 Population and Housing Unit Counts for Ohio, and the 2020 census counts through TIGERweb; read September 24, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 5-year estimates, tables B25034 and B25035, for the place, through Census Reporter; read September 24, 2026.
Common questions
When did Pickerington get a sewage treatment plant?
The City of Pickerington's history of its plant says the village built its first sewage treatment plant in 1974 at 525 Hill Road South, processing 580,000 gallons a day. It was expanded in 1986 and 1987, in 1997 and 1998, and in 2009 and 2010, to 3.2 million gallons a day.
How fast did Pickerington grow?
The census counted 696 people in Pickerington in 1970, 3,917 in 1980, 9,792 in 2000 and 23,094 in 2020. Before 1970 it had stayed a village of a few hundred since at least 1890.
When did Pickerington become a city?
The city dates its city status to 1991, at a population it gives as about 5,645. The 1990 census had counted 5,668 people. The city's audited financial report says it was incorporated as a village in 1881 and declared a city on April 29, 1991.
Where does Pickerington water come from?
From five wells at the city's water plant west of Diley Road, in what its 2025 water quality report calls the Newark River aquifer, with emergency connections to Fairfield County's utilities at four points.
How new are the houses in Pickerington?
In the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 survey the median year built for Pickerington's 8,882 housing units is 2003, a third were built from 2000 to 2009, and 2.6 percent were built in 1939 or earlier.
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