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Two big Trumbull construction projects reaching milestones
Officials expected to authorize start of plant upgrade
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
Public water soon will flow to about 315 customers of the $14 million Prosperity waterline that travels more than 12 miles from Braceville Center to West Farmington.
The Trumbull County commissioners are expected to approve a resolution today to designate the northern part of the project substantially complete, allowing customers to begin connecting to it.
Gary Newbrough, deputy Trumbull County sanitary engineer, said he expects to send letters to customers from state Route 305 in Southington to West Farmington later this week, explaining the steps they must take to eliminate their present water system – mostly wells – before they can begin to use the waterline.
The commissioners approved the substantially complete designation for the southern part of the project from state Route 82 in Braceville to state Route 305 in Southington on July 3. Those customers have been advised of the steps they must take and are beginning to carry them out, Newbrough said.
He doesn’t believe any customers have finished connecting to the line, but many will complete it in the coming months, Newbrough said.
Another section in Southington that includes roads such as Barclay Messerly, Warren Burton, and Route 305 and Anna Court are still being tested to determine if the line is ready.
The project was dubbed the Prosperity waterline when it was announced because of the potential it would spur increases in property values and development. But the state also saw it as a necessity to provide West Farmington with good-quality drinking water because of problems the village was having with its existing water supply.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said the $6 million grant it provided and another $6.5 million in zero-percent loans made this the highest level of funding for a water project in the agency’s history.
Newbrough said Tuesday the project is under budget, and the cost to each customer is likely to drop compared with the amount quoted to customers when it was first proposed because of the number of property owners expressing an interest in being served by the line.
The commissioners also are expected today to give A.P. O’Horo Co. of Youngstown the authority to begin constructing a $32 million upgrade of the Mosquito Creek Wastwater Treatment Plant on Anderson Avenue in Howland.
Scott Verner, special projects director and chief design engineer for the county sanitary engineer’s office, said it’s the biggest Trumbull County project dollar-wise he’s aware of dating back to the start of his employment with the county more than 15 years ago.