Work starts on county water line

By STEVE COLON

Enterprise Editor

Work has begun on the initial phase of the Northeast Fulton County Water line and the project is expected to be completed in late fall or early winter.

Just over 5,000 linear feet of pipe has been laid in Swancreek Township where the new line taps into an existing line from Lucas County. This line is part of the Swancreek Water District and will extend north up to Co. Rd. H.

Sanitary Engineer Ziad Musallam told commissioner last week the project is on schedule and proceeding with only one minor problem. Part of the federal grants and loans required American made parts be used for the project. He said a shortage of those products was a minor hitch and that all the products have been delivered.

A pump station to be located at county roads H and 3, is being built and will be delivered later this summer, he said.

The members of the district's advisory board have met and developed rules, rates and regulations for the water lines usage. Those were expected to be approved by commissioners yesterday and were not available at press time.

Musallam said he expects to schedule a second public meeting sometime in March for the over 700 residents and businesses that will be part of the water district.

Residents can follow the progress of the project on the county's Website at fultoncountyoh.com. In the bottom left corner, there is a link "NEFC Water Project" which will take viewers to complete and weekly updated information about the project.

Maps will also be included which will show weekly progress on the construction of the water line and are broken down by individual townships.

In meeting with commissioners, Musallam said residents would have to hire their own contractor to install taps and run water lines to their homes. He said a list of approved contractors is being developed at this time.

Commissioners asked if tapping into the line as it was constructed would save the residents money. Musallam said there would be no significant cost increase to waiting until the project is complete and it would aid final testing if no taps were installed.

The line must be pressure tested before it goes live and if there is a problem with the line, having hundreds of taps would make finding the sources of the problem much harder.

The first phase of the project is installing a water line from the existing line along the Rails to Trails path up to Co. Rd. K. It is set for substantial completion on Sept. 1, 2010. This phase includes supplying water to residents of Ai.

The second phase will travel north to US 20 then go east to assumption where it will tap into an existing line from Metamora. It will also go west to Co. Rd. 6 and then north to supply Evergreen schools. It is set for substantial completion on Nov. 1, 2010.

The third phase will continue north to the Michigan state line and follow St. Rt. 120 west to the former Teleflex building. It will then connect with an existing line from Lyons which will be tapped off at the village limits. Lyons has opted not to join the water district at this time. It is set for completion on Dec. 1, 2010.

Members of the water board are Steve Brown, Regional Planning Commission; Joe Gombash, Fulton Township; Musallam, Rick Raad, Amboy Township; Bill Smith, Royalton Township; John Vershum, Village of Metamora.

Its duties include drafting and recommending water use rules and regulations, water rates and fees, water service areas; reviewing and recommending new water tap and waterline extension applications, standard water system construction and materials specifications, water supply improvements plans and specifications, water system annual capital improvements and budget and water and technical service agreements.