Waterline design plans expected next month

Engineering design plans for extending the Ottawa County regional water system to the Village of Elmore are expected to be complete by next month and construction could start before the end of the year, Dave Hower, village administrator, said last week.
Poggemeyer Design Group is preparing the plans for the estimated $4.5 million project that will link the county system to the village distribution network. Currently, the western leg of the county system ends at W. Portage River South Road at the Materion Corp. facility in Harris Township.
Hower said the village’s projected share of the project’s cost is $750,000 but grants and other funding could keep its out-of-pocket cost well below $200,000.
“The village has received a 50/50 grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission Small Government program of $439,589 to support the project,” he said. “The village also received funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of $146,000 to apply towards this project. The village will need to spend $164,500 out of pocket from capital funding to finance this project,”
For its part, the county has secured a $2 million Ohio Department of Development grant to assist in paying for the extension to the village.
The village has been relying on municipal water wells to supply its distribution system. When linked to the county system, the village would retain its water tower and distribution system with the county supplying the water to a master meter at the village limits.
Under an agreement between the village and county, the county will contract for construction of the waterline but the village will be responsible for paying for repairs and improvements downstream from the master meter.
The village will also be responsible maintaining any backflow protection required by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
The county system serves the City of Port Clinton, Village of Oak Harbor and portions of seven townships including Danbury, Catawba Island, Portage, Erie, Bay, Salem and Harris.
The 2021 average annual residential water rate of $462.70 for users of the county system was approximately 33 percent below the 2019 statewide average rate of $697, according to the county’s 2021 annual report.