MVSD aims to expand

MVSD can broaden its customer base only through its member cities.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
MINERAL RIDGE -- The Mahoning Valley Sanitary District must broaden its water customer base to help fund capital improvements, a board member says.
Board member Matt Blair said the wholesale water provider must educate the public about what it can offer as opposed to its primary competitor, for-profit Aqua Ohio Inc.
The MVSD provides wholesale treated water to Youngstown, Niles and McDonald for resale to their customers. About 300,000 people use MVSD water.
Thomas Holloway, MVSD director, said the district is prohibited by law from negotiating with individual customers for water sales. It must deal directly with the member cities.
However, member cities can extend their lines and increase customer base.
Randy Fabrizio, Niles superintendent of water and wastewater, said the city will construct larger capacity waterlines in Vienna, Brookfield, Liberty and Hubbard townships to service more customers.
The project, which will cost Niles $1.5 million, is scheduled for completion next fall, Fabrizio said.
Milton and Jackson
The Mahoning County sanitary engineer has begun to extend waterlines into Milton and Jackson townships.
William Coleman, MCSE office manager, said the project will cost $7.9 million and be completed by next fall; it will add 300 to 600 customers.
MVSD has retained PFM Group, a Cleveland-based public financial management company, to help identify capital improvement projects and funding sources.
Edwin P. Ricci, PFM managing director, has told the board it needs a policy to maintain the district's physical equipment.
Industries leave
Blair said the district must broaden its customer base to help pay for capital expenditures because the base has been flat as industrial customers have moved out of the area.
Ricci said the district can increase water sales with minimum increase in cost. For example, employees would be earning the same wages regardless of the amount of water they process.
Holloway agrees, but he noted there would be the added costs for more chemicals and electricity to increase production.
The district sells about 26.3 million gallons per day but has a capacity of 40 million per day.
If MVSD can reach maximum capacity, Blair said, water rates could be lowered over the short term and rate increases slowed over the long term and help fund capital improvements.
Holloway said the cost of upgrading is included when the district seeks rate increases from the district court of jurisdiction. The court comprises common pleas court judges from Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
"Things wear out and you have to replace them," Holloway said.
Last increase
When the MVSD was granted its last rate increase from the court in 2004, the cost of three capital improvement projects was included.
They were $1.5 million for a water storage tank in Niles, $1.17 to replace roofs on district-owned buildings and $7.3 million to upgrade the filtration system.
yovich@vindy.com