BATH TOWNSHIP — Extending county waterlines to approximately 12 Bath Township homeowners, who are dealing with residential water well issues, has been put on hold for now.
Bath Township Trustee Steve Ross said the proposed solution to extend a county water main along Dayton-Yellow Springs Road, between West Enon Road and State Route 235, would be too costly at this time for those residents who live along the stretch of road. Ross said a number of residents came to this conclusion after he met with them on June 26.
“The township held the meeting to see if there were enough township residents living along Dayton-Yellow Springs Road who would be interested in hooking onto a county waterline,” Ross said during the July 5 township meeting. “Six residents attended. Five residents were for the proposal, and one resident was against it because he has plenty of drinking water at this time. Only three residents have been the driving force of this proposed plan.”
Ross pointed out that at least eight or nine homeowners who currently rely on well water would have to commit to connecting to the public water system before county officials would move forward with floating a bond for the project.
“Those votes would go before Greene County Commissioners who would say yea or nay,” said Ross.
The proposal entailed transporting water from a county-owned water tower on West Enon Road. The water would flow west through a public water main extension to the last house on Dayton-Yellow Springs Road. The homeowners would then connect to the water main for service.
“Waterlines run about a quarter of a mile down that road already, and this would have been a fairly simple solution,” Ross said.
However, the fix would be very costly for each property owner who would connect to the waterline.
According to Ross, the costs of the $286,200 construction project would be divided by the number of residents who would participate.
“The maximum number of residents there is 12, which means $23,850 would have to be added onto each of the 12 homeowner’s property taxes over the next 20 years. If less than 12 residents participate, the cost for each participating homeowner would increase significantly,” said Ross.
Each homeowner would also be charged $3,500–to-$5,000 for a tap-in fee, as well as a plumber’s fee to run a waterline from the water main to the resident’s house. According to Ross, that fee could cost as much as $10,000.
The well issues were first brought to the attention of the Bath Township Trustees after a number of residents started to experience dwindling water supplies. Water levels of some residential wells along Dayton-Yellow Springs Road have dropped below a pump intake, and a number of residents have drilled deeper wells to obtain a better water supply. One resident said his well dries up during periods of extreme heat and drought conditions. However, Ross pointed out that some of these residents’ neighbors have not experience any water-supply issues thus far.
“There are other possible solutions for these residents,” Ross said. “We just need to find the right one.”
