Ridgelawn water problems no worse than other nearby streets, Niles service director-elect says

HOWLAND

The current and future service directors for Niles are offering no solutions now to help residents of Ridgelawn Avenue Southeast in Howland who have had two waterline breaks since Thursday and about seven this year.

Ridgelawn residents get their water from the city of Niles, so it’s the city’s responsibility to maintain the lines. Howland Township provides most other services.

“Financially, you can’t [replace] all those waterlines,” said James DePasquale, who will take over Jan. 1 as Niles service director.

DePasquale worked 31 years in the Niles engineering department, the last 15 as capital-improvements inspector, meaning he oversaw all construction projects the last 15 years before his retirement in 2003.

DePasquale was meeting with current service director Neil Buccino on Monday when The Vindicator stopped to ask Buccino about a complaint from one unidentified Ridgelawn resident.

DePasquale said he always organized projects such as waterline replacements to coincide with other projects, such as paving or sewer line replacements.

Buccino said there have been a lot of waterline problems on the east and west sides of North Road in recent years, including on Ridgelawn, but said he didn’t perceive the problem on Ridgelawn to be more pronounced than other nearby streets. The Ridgelawn waterline is believed to have been installed near 1960.

Read more about the matter in Tuesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.