TRUMBULL COUNTY OfficialsOK water project

WARREN -- Twenty Weathersfield Township households whose well water was contaminated by natural gas drilling could be drinking Niles city water by the end of next summer.
Trumbull County commissioners approved plans for the Austintown-Warren Road waterline project Tuesday. The estimated $572,500 project is funded by the county's block grant program and its revolving loan fund.
Those affected
Alan Knapp, county Planning Commission director, said the project will benefit Austintown-Warren Road households from 300 feet north of Garland Drive to the township line. The waterline will include an emergency connection with the Warren city system.
"It's contaminated, so they need city water. Niles would be the appropriate water system to serve them," Knapp said.
Since gas drilling increased in the last decade, homeowners have had to buy and maintain water softeners and treatment systems that can clog with a black substance, Knapp said.
The residents use bottled water for drinking and cooking, he said.
Now that the commissioners have approved the plans, they will be sent to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for what will likely be a 60-day review period. Bids for the project could be sought sometime in February, with a contract awarded by commissioners in March. Completion could come by the end of summer, Knapp said.
The planning commission is trying to find financial help for people who can't afford the tap-in fees and lateral lines to their homes.
Several years ago
This isn't the first time the county has aided a Weathersfield Township neighborhood with bad water. Several years ago, residents of the Heaton-Chute neighborhood had problems with tap water that they said could ignite.
Knapp noted that Heaton-Chute is east of the Mahoning River in the northern part of the township. The Austintown-Warren project is west of the river in the northwest corner of Weathersfield. Both areas are about a mile apart.