T-L Photo/ROBERT A. DEFRANK St. Clairsville Councilwoman Linda Jordan updates council members on city business Monday. Councilman Mike Smith observes. The city is preparing for major water system upgrades this year.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE – After close to a year of waiting, planning and preparing, the city is taking steps toward a new permanent main waterline with work expected to begin this year.

However, some serious questions remain, and other thorny water and sewer problems must be solved.

During the summer of 2021, city employees discovered the main line from the water treatment plant was leaking. The aged line was in poor condition and its replacement quickly became a top priority.

Since August, the city has been fed water through a temporary waterline located on top of Reservoir Road where it crosses Interstate 70. The city hopes to be able to run the permanent waterline through the old line’s casing under I-70 to save the cost of drilling a new one.

Safety and Service Director Jeremy Greenwood updated council Monday. He said the first planning meeting would be held this Wednesday with the superintendents, project engineer, engineer Jeff Vaughn and others.

Progress is possible through the approval of a loan of more than $900,000 through the Ohio Water Development Authority. Greenwood said it is a 20-year loan with “miniscule” interest rates. The loan application process had been a lengthy one. Greenwood said the city had sufficient funds to tackle the project, but he did not wish to deplete city coffers when other projects might be in need.

The most pertinent question for this project is whether the old line’s casing is usable. Greenwood said the cost will be about $850,000 if this is the case, but the price tag will rise sharply otherwise.

“We’ve got our fingers crossed that Plan A works, then we’ll move forward with it,” he said. “Plan B jumps dramatically. We have an idea of what we’ll do for Plan B, but we haven’t priced it yet. That’s where it gets real expensive, real fast.”

Greenwood said this would probably mean seeking additional loan funding.

He added that fortunately, the city already secured piping and materials for the job. In answer to a question from Councilman Mark Thomas, Greenwood said he hopes work will begin this year.

During Wednesday’s planning meeting, Greenwood expects to determine when work could start.

“The plan is to do one side of the interstate, because (the Ohio Department of Transportation) is making us close down one of the lanes, so we have to do it, then we have to shore up the interstate, the edge of it, and excavate out. Once we do the one side of it, we’ll be able to make a determination,” he said.

Another key portion of water service renovation is upgrading and replacing the waterlines throughout the city.

Council also debated the issue of paving the city streets. Councilman Don Vincenzo spoke to other council members after viewing a map Greenwood compiled of the streets in need of paving, compared to the water lines that must be replaced.

“If we start paving a lot of these streets, it’s going to be throwing good money after bad,” Vincenzo said, adding many roads would have to be dug up again for water line upgrades.

“Our main water lines here uptown are in the alleys behind Main Street. These alleys, they’re not that big, so when you dig a trench in the middle of an alley, we’re going to have to renew the entire alley,” Greenwood said.

Greenwood added there are many streets in need of paving that run over water lines.

“The project we bid out last fall for paving has three streets in it right now that are going to be completely destroyed with water lines. Those three streets I’m going to take out of the project. We’re going to look at doing some other work,” he said.

One option is patching needy areas using tar and chip.

“I know that’s not going to be popular, but it’s going to help hold the streets together until we can make a determination if we’re going to be able to do more water lines,” Greenwood said.

Councilman J.C. Thrash reminded the council of rising costs.

“The cost of paving has tripled, $200,000 would probably get us two streets,” Thrash said.

Greenwood voiced the hope that the city might be able to bankroll funds toward a single, large paving project later.

Thrash asked if the unused paving funds could be placed in an account that earns interests. Greenwood said government regulations require it be kept in a paving allocation.

“We can’t put it in a (certificate of deposit) and make money on it,” Greenwood said.

Greenwood also addressed a lift station explosion in mid-April, caused by a clog in the aging system. Greenwood said the station check valve had been replaced and the pump was operational again, but may need to be rebuilt in the future. Cost has yet to be determined.

“It’s just age,” Greenwood said. “I think it’ll work for the foreseeable future. … Once we get this water line project starting…we have to turn our attention to the sewer plant too. It’s 40 years old this year.”

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