Belmont County Commissioners Approve $750k for Hendrysburg-Fairview Waterline Extension Project
The Belmont County Commissioners have approved $750,000 for a planned water project aimed at reducing costs for residents and providing clean water.
The Hendrysburg-Fairview water project is a multi-million-dollar infrastructure initiative that will extend Barnesville’s public water system to more than 300 homes in Hendrysburg, Fairview and surrounding areas including the northern stretch of Mt. Olivett Road. The project addresses long-standing issues with contaminated private wells and provides water access for potential economic development near the Interstate 70 corridor. Construction is expected to begin this summer.
Last week, commissioners voted to approve the award of $750,000 through the Community Development Block Grant program to the village of Barnesville. The Belomar Regional Council assisted with securing the grant, according to Belmont County Commissioner Jerry Echemann.
“It’s certainly a worthwhile project anytime in this day and age where a community just doesn’t have running water,” he said.
Echemann said the project has been in development for several years but previously stalled because waterline construction is expensive and complex and this project involves two counties – Belmont and Guernsey.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency awarded the village of Barnesville support funding for the project. Echemann explained that because of the nature of the funding, however, the money had to be administered through the county rather than the village.
Echemann said the county plans to set aside the funds for tap-in fees to help residents connect to the system once construction is complete.
Typically, homeowners must pay a tap-in fee when connecting to a public water system. Echemann said that cost can be around $2,000 and covers the connection of the home to the water line and access to the system.
“For someone who is of low to moderate income, that’s a big expense,” Echemann said.
Echemann noted that Hendrysburg historically has relied on private wells for water; however, many wells are not functional, therefore residents cannot drink the water.
“We’ve been really committed to it for the last three years or so,” Echemann said. “It just finally all started to come into place. It’s been something that has been worked on for a long time by the county commission and other entities.”
In a related matter the consultant for the project has scheduled two public meetings for citizens to find out more about the project and, hopefully, sign easements on March 17 (Fairview) and March 24 (Hendrysburg). Read the Barnesville Area News article on the upcoming meetings here.
Barnesville Area News Needs Your Support!
We're dedicated to providing coverage of the local happenings in Barnesville and the neighboring communities.
As a non-profit entity, we rely on the donations of readers like you.
Make a donation today and you'll be helping keep local news alive in the Barnesville area.