Aqua Ohio's lawsuit says county reneged

Aqua Ohio Inc. claims it has a contract to provide water until 2015.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Aqua Ohio Inc. has filed a lawsuit against the Trumbull County commissioners, alleging the county has reneged on a contract to provide water.
The complaint filed by the private water supplier Thursday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court also wants the court to order the county to stop favoring public bulk water suppliers over private sources.
Walter Pishkur, Aqua's president, said earlier this week that Aqua would not relinquish its contractual right to provide water to customers in Brookfield, Vienna, Liberty and Hubbard townships without a legal fight.
In its complaint, Aqua says the county commissioners, through the county sanitary engineer's office, have the exclusive right to provide water in the four townships.
First pact in 1955
The original agreement was signed June 27, 1955, by the commissioners and Masury Water Co., Aqua's predecessor.
The pact, according to the complaint, was extended for 10 years in 1965, to expire in 1975, renewed and later extended in 1995 to February 2005.
Aqua maintains that if the commissioners don't want to renew the agreement, the county has to give Aqua a one-year notice.
According to the complaint, the one-year deadline approached and passed and the commissioners did not have in place any other means of transmitting water except for Aqua.
The commissioners never gave the private supplier notice of their intent not to renew the agreement, the lawsuit claims. Aqua maintains the contract is in effect an additional 10 years, or until at least until February 2015. It continues to provide water to the townships.
County's response
James Brutz, an assistant county prosecutor assigned to the sanitary engineer's office, said Thursday that the contract expired and Aqua received notification that it wouldn't be extended.
Brutz said he welcomes the lawsuit because a court will now decide the contract issue. The case has been assigned to Judge John M. Stuard.
Niles has been planning to supply water to the townships, replacing Aqua. A pre-construction meeting on installing waterlines was scheduled for today.
Aqua also wants the commissioners to stop favoring high-cost government water suppliers over tax-paying Aqua.
The company claims that the commissioners are "thwarting private enterprise and private business interest."
Pishkur said that Aqua offered the county a better rate than Niles when the county decided to allow Niles to supply water to the four townships.
Brutz said that in addition to water rates to customers, Aqua also charges added fees, such as for fire protection.
yovich@vindy.com