Ceremony celebrates waterline completion

Staff report

PETERSBURG

Local and state elected officials and business leaders attended a valve- turning ceremony to celebrate completion of a new $1.8 million public water-line serving about 200 local residents whose wells were contaminated.

The new line will supply clean water and improve fire protection for users, said Nicholas DeBenedictis, chairman and chief executive officer of Aqua America, parent company of Aqua Ohio, the water supplier.

Funding for the project included $100,000 from the East Fairfield Coal Co., $409,000 from Aqua, $417,000 from the Ohio Public Works Commission,$277,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant money and $639,000 in federal stimulus money.

Rudzik Excavating Inc. of Lowellville was the contractor for the 3-mile installation, which was dedicated Tuesday.

Residents previously experienced orange staining of bathtubs and clothes due to the high iron content in the well water.

The waterline installation follows completion of a new $4.7 million Petersburg sewer system, which began accepting connections early last year. The sewer system was installed after the Mahoning County Health Department declared the area’s failing septic systems a public- health nuisance.

Serving nearly 280,000 people in 54 communities, Aqua Ohio is the state’s largest investor-owned water utility.