Liberty’s water woes reflect larger problem in the Valley

About 1,000 Liberty Township resi- dents get their drinking water from the city of Girard — and they aren’t happy. They’ve had to live with fluctuating water pressure, or at times, no water at all. Girard doesn’t deny that a problem exists, but Mayor James Melfi says his city is “trying to solve the problem without destroying the system.” Liberty trustees are losing patience.

“We ... pay a higher price for water than anyone in Trumbull County,” says Jodi Stoyak. “I feel like we’re stuck.” Her colleague, Stan Nudell, adds: “It’s a constant grind. Girard tells us that they are improving it [the system], but we still haven’t seen the results of this.”

If the Liberty-Girard water clash has a familiar ring, it’s because Youngstown and the suburban communities it serves have been embroiled in similar clashes for decades. There have been threats of lawsuits and attempts by the suburbs to dump Youngstown for other suppliers.

But for all the chest-pounding, the city has the upper hand. Youngstown and the city of Niles own the major source of drinking water in this region, the Meander Reservoir. The Mahoning Valley Sanitary District, created by the two cities more than 75 years ago, operates the water purification plant in Mineral Ridge.

More than enough water

As we noted earlier this year, MVSD can produce 60 million gallons of water a day, but demand by the 300,000 customers served by Youngstown, Niles and the village of McDonald is around 27 million. There is capacity to meet an increase in the consumption of drinking water.

Girard gets its water from Niles. Liberty is served by Girard and Youngstown. Youngstown also provides water to all of Austintown and about half of Boardman. Canfield and Jackson Township also get Youngstown water. Suburban customers pay a surcharge, which has long been a point of contention and a cause of political tension.

But there is now an opportunity to begin what we have long advocated: a regional conversation about water and how it can become an economic development tool if handled properly.

Youngstown’s new mayor, Charles Sammarone, believes that the past tensions between the city and the suburbs were unnecessary.

Sammarone says agreements can be worked out that would be beneficial to all parties. A regional meeting hosted by him would be timely.