Water quality discussion continues in Midvale
MIDVALE (WJER) (July 14, 2022) – Some of the village’s water customers don’t seem too thrilled about the possibility of officials selling the system to a private company.
A couple hundred of them packed into Midvale Elementary Wednesday evening to hear from the only prospective buyer so far, Aqua Ohio, which could also lease the system and operate it in partnership with the village. Village Administrator Brian Anderson explained why he called the meeting.
“No decisions on anything have been made. It’s information only. So we opened it up to you guys to hear first-hand and maybe quell some of the rumors that have been going around. A lot of false information has been getting back to me.”
Anderson invited Aqua Ohio representative Keith Nutter to give a presentation on the company and the advantages of a potential partnership or acquisition. The crowd didn’t let him finish, though, with one man standing up and interjecting that he didn’t come there to “hear a sales pitch.”
The EPA has ordered a reduction in the amount of manganese in the water that goes out to approximately 900 homes and businesses in and around the village. The town received a million-dollar grant to install a new filtration system, but officials need to come up with another $1.6-million. Anderson says other options including purchasing water from another municipality or linking up to a neighboring community’s system either didn’t pan out or were too costly. He’s planning to request a special council meeting to continue the discussion.