Elmore ready to change water systems

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Elmore village officials are awaiting word from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency as to when the village can start receiving water from the Ottawa County Regional Water System.
Dave Hower, village administrator, said the village submitted a report of the testing it’s completed to the Ohio EPA in late June.
Under a $4.4 million Ottawa County project, approximately 4.4 miles of 12-inch waterline has been installed from the Harris Township water tower to the village. Construction started last December.
“Hydrant testing is done. Everything is pretty much done,” Hower said. “We’re just waiting for EPA approval.”
The village has been operating on a municipal well system. It includes four wells with a capacity of 302,000 gallons per day. Two storage towers have a capacity of 350,000 gallons.
The village has been working with Kleinfelder Engineering on conducting tests for the system.
Kelly Frey, county sanitary engineer, said the EPA requires a procedure to make certain that water going into the Elmore system is not adversarial to the existing system and likely to create a corrosion situation. He said the regional system adds phosphorus to its water, which comes from Lake Erie, to help protect the lines.
The county commissioners have approved a contract with Harris Township calling for the township to pay up to $80,200 for the installation of eight fire hydrants along the new waterline.
The sanitary engineering department is responsible for the operation of a 9-million-gallon per day regional water treatment plant, three 500,000-gallon elevated water storage towers, and more than 182 miles of water transmission and distribution mains serving the City of Port Clinton, the Village of Oak Harbor and portions of seven townships, including Danbury, Catawba Island, Portage, Erie, Bay, Salem and Harris.
In addition to the Elmore line, the regional system may be expanding to the Village of Marblehead.
Frey said his department made a temporary connection between the regional system and the village’s distribution system for 13 days and conducted tests.
“We wanted to get an in-place, actual response to the water pressure and quality the county could provide if Marblehead wants to become part of the regional system,” he said. “Through the July 4th weekend we provided water to the residents and did some pressure testing to see if it was sufficient for fire protection. We also did some quality testing to see if it was the caliber that is required. So far everything has worked out really well.”
The village has had its own water plant since the 1950s but Danbury Township, including Marblehead, has used the regional system for sanitary sewer service since the 1980s, Frey said, adding his office has had discussions with village officials and there has been a public meeting giving residents a chance to ask questions about the pros and cons of joining the regional system for water service.
Frey estimates if the village continues to use its own system users could face a rate increase of about 40 percent to cover costs for improvements.
“They’re making an effort to inform the public and work with the county to get their questions answered. The village council will then sit down and make a decision on what they want to do going forward. It’s their call,” he said.