FAIRFIELD — After much residential opposition, Greater Cincinnati Water Works officials may back down and put a proposed sludge pit for lime residue further from upscale homes.

        The pit, originally planned to border 250 to 300 homes in the Monastery and Riverside Estates subdivisions, may now sit further west, about one-fourth mile from the homes, said Fairfield Planning Director Tim Bachman.

        The pit will be a topic of discussion again tonight at the city's 6 p.m. Planning Commission meeting.

        Dozens of neighbors who object to the sludge pit, which eventually will take up 9 acres, plan to attend.

        About 100 of them packed council chambers Monday with a 600-signature petition against the pit and chocolate bars that read “No Sludge Pit.”

        Residents, whose homes average $300,000 in sale price, fear the landfill will bring blight and noise and reduce property values.

        Though they were relieved Cincinnati officials offered to perhaps move the pit further away from their homes, they still are upset.

        “The bottom line is it's still close enough to our homes,” said resident Tim Meyers.

        “It's not going to help with property values. A yes vote for this is not good business for Fairfield because it's nasty. The material, the look of the pit, is not something appealing that is going to attract anybody.”

        Water Works officials want to place the new pit at their existing River Road water-treatment plan, which serves northern Hamilton County.

        An existing sludge pit for the plant is nearing capacity, said Rob Schroeder, a Cincinnati engineer with Water Works. That pit borders the plant about 1,500 feet from where Cincinnati officials want to place the new pit, which will be capped once it fills in about 30 years.

        Mr. Schroeder and other city engineers have been meeting with the residents to try to work out the dispute. But Water Works officials want to use their own land for the new landfill, he has said.

        The planning commission's recommendation will go to Fairfield City Council, which must grant approval for sanitary landfills or other types of garbage disposal facilities in the city. Council's vote is expected in late July or early August.

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