Officials dig in for waterline extension

By Denise Dick

The $1.8 million project involves stimulus funds.

PETERSBURG — Extension of a waterline into the community means safe drinking water and better fire protection for residents, officials said.

Mahoning County, Springfield Township, Aqua Ohio and other officials gathered for the project’s groundbreaking Friday morning at the township fire station on Youngstown-Pittsburgh Road.

“It’s taken a long time, but the people of Petersburg have been very patient,” said Robert Orr, Springfield Township trustee.

Many residents’ wells tested positive for high levels of bacteria and chemical-iron deposits, causing orange stains. Some residents also complained of methane gas in the wells.

The project entails extension of a 12-inch waterline from the intersection of Garfield Road and Unity Road east to the intersection of Garfield and state Route 170. Also included is extension of 8-inch waterlines into the community.

The total cost is about $1.8 million with construction of about $1.15 million. Rudzik Excavating of Lowellville is the contractor.

The project includes $800,000 in federal-stimulus funds. East Fairfield Coal donated $100,000 toward the project in 2007, and that money funded engineering work. Aqua Ohio invested about $480,000 to extend the lines. The company also waived the tap-in fee that would have cost each resident about $1,300.

An additional $217,000 toward the project came from a Community Development Block Grant administered by the county commissioners.

About 200 families call Peterburg — part of Springfield Township — home, and 98 percent of them indicated they were interested in the waterline project when asked by trustees, Orr said.

“This will provide better insurance rates, better fire service and safe, clean drinking water,” he said.

Joseph Warino, county sanitary engineer, said plans for the project started about five years ago. It involved cooperation from state, county and township officials as well as Aqua to make it a reality, he said.

It’s also the latest improvement project in the community. Last year, Dominion East Ohio Gas installed a gas line. A sanitary-sewer line has been completed, and the Ohio Department of Transportation District 4 is upgrading the state Routes 170 and 616 intersection and adding sidewalks.

Commissioner David Ludt said the community has come a long way.

“Petersburg went from the worst place in the county to probably the best place in terms of its sewer system,” Ludt said.

denise_dick@vindy.com