Newer tank a washout in St. C.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- The 500,000-gallon water tank located off of Mall Ring Road will soon stand as an empty shell -- and the city is out millions for the project -- after council decided Monday there is no option but to "mothball" it.

Safety and Service Director Jeremy Greenwood reported that the 4-year-old structure, which he described as practically new, was apparently flawed in its design.

"We received a (notice of violation) from the state of Ohio, from the (Environmental Protection Agency)," he said. "The water tank that was just installed a couple years ago was installed at the wrong elevation."

Greenwood said the tank should have been constructed at at least 45 feet higher.

"The problem is that it's below the hydraulic level of the system," Greenwood said.

He said pumps at the water plant have sufficient pressure to get water to the elevation of the water towers, but the new tank would overflow and not allow the higher tanks to fill. It was necessary to install an altitude valve in the new tank, which limits the flow of water into the new tank.

"We turn the altitude valve on, our pipes are so old and our system so antiquated that it creates a vacuum in the system," Greenwood said. "It drains all the water in the system to fill the tank. To combat that, we have the altitude valve cranked down so low that it takes two to three days to fill 5-10 feet in the tank."

He said the older tanks are filled in a day.

Greenwood said water also has a "shelf life" once it is treated at the plant, and it must be used quickly once in the tanks or else it will stagnate.

"We've had to fight that tank constantly since I've been here," Greenwood said. "The key word is 'gravity.'"

Greenwood said the options were to rebuild the tank or to retire it, which will consist of disconnecting the tank from the system, draining all the water from the tank and creating a physical disconnect from the pipe.

He was unsure what the cost of mothballing the tank would be. He said there will be additional upkeep costs and property insurance. No date for initiating the process was set.

Greenwood said the total cost of demolishing the tank, building a new one in a proper location and paying the loans for the 500,000-gallon tank would be close to $6 million.

He said the total cost of the tank was about $2.2 million and that the tank was constructed with the help of various loans that still must be paid back, with about $1.5 million remaining.

"We have 30 years of loans for that tank," he said.

The tank was intended to replace one of the older water towers, which hold 250,000 gallons. He said the city currently has sufficient water. The new tank was built in anticipation of more development in the St. Clair Commons area, which has not yet materialized.

Greenwood said the tank likely was placed at its location to avoid the cost of constructing retaining walls and a roadway to the top of a hill. He said the prior administration saved about $350,000 by constructing the tank at the current level, but at a long-term cost of millions.

Greenwood requested a closed-door session to discuss litigation. Council members met in private for about 45 minutes. No action was taken afterward, and they made the decision to mothball the tank. No vote was needed.