Leetonia delays work

The new waterline will set the stage for east side growth.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LEETONIA -- An extension on the deadline for using a Community Development Block Grant will allow village officials to wait until spring to install a waterline.
Administrator Gary Phillips said the village was supposed to complete a waterline extension on the south side of the village by Dec. 31. Now the village has until June 30 to complete the project.
The 12-inch waterline will go from a connection at Front and Chestnut streets, under the Norfolk Southern Railway line at the Chestnut Street crossing, then go east on Columbia Street.
Phillips said the new waterline will set the stage for east side growth. He hopes the line will one day extend to the village's east border.
The CDBG is for $64,400. The village's portion is $2,800.
Project
The waterline extension is part of an ongoing project to replace the village's aging water supply system. He said most of the lines that still need replaced are at least 100 years old and there are some that are 150 years old.
Many of the village's main waterlines have been replaced with plastic 12-inch lines. Mineral deposits and corrosion over time create problems for residents as the buildup in old pipes breaks into the water flow, he said.
Those problems are eliminated with plastic pipe and larger waterlines improve water flow and pressure, he said.
Seeking grants
Phillips said as funding is available the village will replace a few more main lines and then seek grants to begin replacing smaller lines through the neighborhoods, where there are 10-inch, 8-inch, 6-inch and even some 4-inch lines now.
He said he would never use 4-inch lines now, but using various sizes of pipe allows water to move through the waterlines more efficiently.
Phillips said replacement of aging neighborhood waterlines would probably begin on the south side of the village. The south side is at the bottom of the hill from the water tower and storage tank so as water flows through the system mineral deposits tend to settle in the south side lines.
Phillips said, however, that the timetable for replacing neighborhood waterlines depends on the availability of funding and how soon the village would be able to pay for a local share of the projects.
tullis@vindy.com