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STEUBENVILLE -- Jefferson County commissioners agreed Thursday to submit the "very preliminary" estimate requested by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency regarding the potential cost of supplying Cadiz with water, but stressed they do not want to be rushed into a decision they could regret later.
During a work session Thursday, Jefferson County Water and Sewer District Director Jonathan Sgalla told commissioners the OEPA is seeking the most cost-effective solution to address the Harrison County community's water needs.
"There's a major collaboration involved in this," Sgalla said. "They've looked at a couple avenues so far ... coming to us seemed to be the cheapest avenue, as of now."
Arcadis' Andrew Dawson, the county's engineering consultant, outlined several options being considered by the OEPA, including constructing a new water plant near Cadiz, connecting to Tri-County Water through a new line from Martins Ferry, extending a 10-inch line from the Jefferson County Water and Sewer District to supply Cadiz or having both JCWSD and Harrison County Water supply Cadiz through their existing 8-inch lines.
"I am wrapping up a letter to the OEPA with an estimated $40 million of project upgrades needed in the JCWSD system to potentially supply Cadiz," Dawson said Thursday evening. "Much more detailed planning is needed to further iron out the plan, but these were high-level costs."
Dawson said the proposal presents both benefits and challenges.
"It would mean a significant amount of grant dollars awarded to the JCWSD to potentially build new water lines, but also to upgrade existing pump stations that are at the end of their useful life and also for a new water storage tank," Dawson said. "These pump station upgrades will for sure be required of the county within a few years, so the ability to have them paid for (would be) awesome."
Dawson said the county could benefit from increased revenue through bulk water sales and grant funding to replace pumps that otherwise would need to be funded through the district's nonexistent capital account, potentially requiring future rate increases.
He added that grant funding could also help address the district's existing water storage capacity issues.
One concern, Dawson said, is the OEPA is not providing funding for a full feasibility study that would determine the most cost-effective long-term solution.
"Instead of doing that, they're asking us to pull numbers within days when we don't have the time to do engineering work and all that," Dawson said. "It's a frustrating situation, but we believe we've kind of identified everything that we'd need to upgrade in order to make this happen."
Dawson said additional planning is needed to determine future needs, including what the region's water demands could look like in 10 years.
"(The unknowns are) a potential downside for (the county's) involvement, due to the OEPA not offering up any money for a true planning study across all entities involved," Dawson said.
However, Dawson said the district would not move forward with any option that could negatively impact current customers.
"We have made it clear that the JCWSD will absolutely not take on anything that would have a negative effect on the existing customer base," he said.
Dawson said the OEPA understands that the submitted figures are preliminary and that there are still unknowns.
"We are not locked into anything," he said. "The commissioners will have the final say" if the OEPA selects JCWSD as the preferred option.
Because JCWSD purchases water from Toronto, upgrades that community would need to handle increased demand would also need to be considered as part of the OEPA's decision.
Dawson said the potential project could provide a significant opportunity for the county.
"It's a great opportunity for the county to have some of their soon-to-be required pump station upgrades paid for through grant money, and also increase revenue through bulk sales to Cadiz," he said.