Water and sewer work underway in Belmont County
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- Upgrades to the sewerage system are in the works in Belmont County, with the board of commissioners Thursday approving agreements for engineer and professional services with the engineering firm Vaughn, Coast and Vaughn Inc. at the recommendation of Water and Sewer Director Kelly Porter.
Commissioner J.P. Dutton said three issues are being addressed.
The first will cover a request for a proposal for utility engineering services for various water and sewer work, not to exceed $80,000, and to be paid for from water and sewer revenues.
"The first one ... is just for smaller items that would arise from the district that needs an engineer's opinion," Dutton said.
Dutton said the second project is the replacement of the Blaine Hill force main in the lump sum of $156,000, paid for from the Sewer Capital Improvement Fund.
He said last year the commissioners worked with the office of U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, to secure $800,000 in federal funding.
The county is also seeking funds through the Ohio Department of Development and the Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association.
"It deals with a constraint in the Blaine area, from the sewer that leaves the Ohio Valley Mall and Ohio Valley Plaza and eventually makes its way to the East Ohio Regional Wastewater Authority. There's a constraint there. This will alleviate that constraint for future growth and development," Dutton said.
The third includes improvements to the West End Force Main project in the lump sum of $75,000.
Dutton said this will address part of the Belmont County sewer system running from the Morristown Interstate 70 exit 208 along U.S. 40 until it comes back to the Belmont County sewer plant near the jail on Hammond Road.
"There are some constraints on that system as well for future growth and development. We're trying to address those so they will handle future development in that area," Dutton said.
Porter said both the West End and Blaine Hill lines have reached capacity, adding the Blaine Hill line dates from the 1970s. He did not have the numbers on hand for the amount of sewage currently running through the lines and the optimum capacity needed.
"We need to replace them with a bigger line size. We're increasing line size," Porter said.
Dutton said the project will go to bid after the commissioners receive the engineer's design.
"Both those projects we're hopeful will begin next year," Dutton said, noting the total cost of the Blaine Hill and West End projects could be around $2 million each.
Dutton said there are about 2,000 customers in the sewer district compared to the 10,000 in the water district. He added that the sewer system customers are far-flung, with sewage from the western end of the county treated at the plant near the jail, while sewage east of the Ohio Valley Mall is treated by EORWA in Bellaire.
The commissioners also fielded a question from Frank Papini of St. Clairsville, who inquired about the progress of a plan for the city of St. Clairsville to purchase water from the county. Dutton said the connection is ready and the city and county are still negotiating how much water the county would have ready for the city on a daily basis.
"We only produce so much water a day. We have other obligations - the village of Bethesda, the village of Flushing," Dutton said. "We can't overextend ourselves."
He did not have the amount of water the county would prefer to provide on hand. City officials were not available to discuss their preferred amount of water.