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City water coming to Canfield Township
CANFIELD
ABC Water and Storm Water District officials are preparing a bulk-water purchasing agreement with Youngstown, to be able to offer municipal water service for nearly 800 Canfield Township properties otherwise drawing well water.
Township Administrator Keith Rogers said residents have shown interest in municipal water for years.
“They don’t like the well water any longer. They had asked if they could keep the wells for washing their cars outside or for their gardens ... but they want potable water in their house,” he said.
Meetings with former Youngstown administrators in 2015 went nowhere, but a summer 2018 agreement laid the groundwork for a new water system that could begin construction as early as 2020, Rogers said. As the city raises its water purchasing threshold to resell to the district, its rates will go down, he said.
“This is the kind of project the city has been hoping to get into in outlying areas,” city Law Director Jeff Limbian said Tuesday.
“It’ll make it cost-effective and help spur development. I think Mayor [Jamael Tito] Brown’s view is development anywhere in the Mahoning Valley is good for the city of Youngstown.”
The proposed service area is between West Western Reserve Road and the parallel Crory and Columbiana Canfield roads, running north to Gibson Road, where the township system would meet the city’s, according to a district map. Rogers said the system could serve 799 current and future homes.
Property owners in the service area aren’t required to connect to the new system, but it will be a requirement before selling the property, Rogers said. Water rates and new construction costs are still nebulous, until the district inks its purchasing agreement with the township, he said. He said the district would consider levying additional water service fees if service revenues alone aren’t flowing in.
As part of the agreement, the district offered the city options to expand its water system west from Crory Road to Ellsworth Township in the future, Rogers said.
A feasibility study finished Feb. 12 by CT Consultants reviewed cost estimates for various types of systems and their capabilities. The district is proposing a “curbside” tie-in with water mains and hydrants along the roadside and feeder lines to properties.
“I went with a little bit more expensive system but in the long run, I think it’s going to be the most beneficial to the township residents,” Rogers said. Estimated cost of the city-township connection is $1.8 million, and the city water is expected to cost about $3.81 per 1,000 gallons, according to the feasibility study.