Coshocton takes bids for Warsaw waterline project. Is Conesville next?

COSHOCTON − Water remains a primary topic for the City of Coshocton and its elected officials. This includes improvement to well fields, extending waterlines to Warsaw and then going to Conesville next.

The Appalachian Regional Commission recently awarded $500,000 to the City of Coshocton for the Warsaw Waterline Extension project. Funding will be used to construct 49,300 feet of new waterline from Coshocton to Warsaw along with installation of a booster station and construction of a new water storage tank. Others along U.S. 36 can also tie into the waterlines, including the campus of River View Local Schools.

The project also received $1 million in federal funding in March with more than $10 million secured for the project. Safety Service Director Max Crown said they won't know the total amount for the project until bids for the work are received. They plan to open bids on Nov. 25.

The project is similar to the one from 2020 where Coshocton extended waterlines and started providing water and water services to the West Lafayette. There have been talks of going to Conesville after Warsaw, primarily to the burgeoning Conesville Industrial Park at the old American Electric Power plant site.

Crown said West Lafayette uses about 250,000 gallons of water a day and Warsaw is estimated at 200,000 gallons a day. The water plant has a 15 million gallons a day capacity and uses a bit less than 4 million gallons a day now, Crown stated.

Mayor Mark Mills said he knows waterlines need work in town, but it's easier to acquire funding for extension projects as the state is urging the consolidation of water services and establishments of regional water authorities.

"I fight every day in saying 'we have issues here,'" Mills said. "It's like 'hey, state and federal partners, we need money to improve this infrastructure that is a 100-plus years old.' People say fix it, fix it, fix it, and we're trying, but it's an issue that's bigger than just go out and fix it."

However, the city is focused on problems in town as well.

Last December, it received $1 million in H2Ohio funding for replacement of 4,000 feet of old waterlines on Chestnut Street. The remainder of funding for the estimated $1.9 million project will come from loans. Crown said it would take about three to four months to complete.

Crown mentioned the city replacing waterlines of about 700 feet connecting Cambridge Road to Buena Vista Drive costing roughly $300,000 and loans will be needed for that project as well. Even for smaller projects like that, the city doesn't have that type of capital money. Loans usually come from the Ohio Public Works Commission and Ohio Water Development Authority.

"All cities our age have the same problems. They ran water in the early 1900s and just don't have the money to do those old lines," Crown said. "As we see small projects, we're trying to go after them with loan money."

Another project that will benefit all water users is upgrades to obsolete equipment at the city's water well field to install a reliable power source. The city recently received a $500,000 Critical Infrastructure Grant from the Community Block Development Grant Program. The project is estimated at $800,000 with the remainder coming from loans from the OPWC.

Coshocton City Council recently agreed to seek the OPWC loans and to take bids for the project from contractors once funding is finalized. The next regular meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 28 in council chambers at city hall. The committees meeting are at 5:45 p.m.