LEETONIA Village officials urge frugal water use

The intersection of Chestnut and Front streets will be closed next week.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LEETONIA -- Village officials have lifted an order to boil drinking water, but water customers should continue to conserve.
Administrator Gary Phillips said the new 12-inch supply line is connected to a 480,000-gallon concrete storage tank, and the tank is filled.
He said water customers are asked to continue to conserve water because the well pumps have been running continuously for several weeks to refill the storage tank.
"People want to wash their cars and such, but we'd like them to continue to conserve," Phillips said. "Keeping up with customers' demand while we were filling the tank really taxed those pumps, and we want to give them a break."
Crews drained the storage tank to replace waterlines near the bottom of the tank.
What's next: Phillips said the intersection of Chestnut and Front streets on the village's south side will be closed Monday and Tuesday for installation of a new pressure regulating valve.
The new valve will be in a precast concrete space that will be set in the ground under the street, Phillips said.
The space is much larger than a manhole area -- "actually like a room you can walk around in," Phillips said -- so a large portion of the street will be torn up.
Crews recently installed a similar valve at the intersection of Main and Washington streets.
With installation of the pressure valves and connection of the new 12-inch supply line to the water system, water customers should experience increased water volume and pressure, he said.