Elmore: Waterline extension nears completion

News Editor
news@presspublications.com

With construction of a waterline extension to the Village of Elmore from Harris Township all but complete, the Ottawa County sanitary engineer’s office is preparing for a battery of tests and procedures required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on the water.
Once up and running, the waterline will transport water provided by the Ottawa County Regional Water System to the village.
Kelly Frey, sanitary engineer, said the construction could be completed before June.
“The next step for us once the waterline is complete is to have the EPA approve a procedure and have that procedure in place to make sure the water going into the Elmore system is not adversarial to the existing system and could create a corrosion situation,” Frey said. “Most of it is based on pH levels. We add phosphorus to our water and that protects the lines.”
Frey said the EPA called for the more extensive testing procedures in the wake of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
“The EPA has come up with some pretty strict standards for when you change water sources. Our source as regional water is Lake Erie and the source for Elmore is from wells,” he said.
Under the $4.4 million Ottawa County project, approximately 4.4 miles of 12-inch waterline is being installed from the township water tower to the village. Construction started last December and Frey said he was cautiously optimistic it could come in under budget.
“The contractor has until the end of June to finish the restoration portion – going out and making sure everyone’s yards and pavement is back to normal,” Frey said.
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 waterline.
“It’s a good project and will benefit Elmore by not having to maintain their water plant and go through all the issues that come with that,” Frey said.
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.