ASHLAND — A slice of Ashland County is among the north central Ohio communities that received funding Friday when the state announced $122.7 million in grant awards to help improve water infrastructure in 59 counties.
The Rural Lorain County Water Authority (Ashland/Lorain/Medina counties) will receive a $1 million grant to construct 12,000 feet of 4-inch water main along Township Road 1101 and Township Road 876 in Ashland County.
Residents are currently serviced by private wells, many of poor water quality.
The project will extend existing waterlines to create a complete system loop to service previously unserved areas.
The project will benefit 36 people.
DeWine’s announcement also included monies headed to other nearby communities to address specific water issues.
The Village of Shiloh (Richland County) will receive a $500,000 grant to improve waterlines, upgrade meters, and demolish a local water tower.
The water lines in the system have rusty connections, with breaks occurring frequently.
Water shutoffs and boil advisories are well above average for the system, and staff are constantly dealing with breaks, valve malfunctions, and antiquated water hydrants.
The village has limited manpower to make constant repairs and must rely on neighboring village employees to help.
The project will benefit 650 people.
The Village of Marshallville (Wayne County) will receive $2.4 million in gap funding to replace the existing water treatment plant.
The current water treatment plant was constructed in 1985 and many of the mechanical devices are at, or beyond their useful life. The increased maintenance caused by the age of the devices has created difficulty in maintaining compliance with secondary standards.
Additionally, the existing treatment plant does not have emergency back-up power.
The project will benefit 756 people.
The Village of New London (Huron County) will receive $260,600 in gap funding to replace 2,500 feet of 8-inch sanitary sewer.
The existing sewer is more than 80 years old and beyond its useful life.
Smoke testing by the village resulted in the discovery of many cross connections, leading to inflow and infiltration, as well as basement backups.
Project activities include reconnecting existing services outside pavement limits, removing all cross connections, and replacing the existing storm sewer between Skellenger Creek west of Park Street to Fairhome Street.
The project will benefit 96 people.
The City of Willard (Huron County) will receive $1,539,715 in gap funding toward a water system improvement project.
The city previously received a $4.9 million WWIG award for this project. The additional funding will cover the remaining costs needed to complete the project.
The project will benefit 10,000 people.
A PDF outlining each program in Ohio is listed below: