PERRYSBURG — The deadline is fast approaching for Perrysburg residents living in the Versailles Water district. They must be hooked up to the public water system no later than May 31. The law states that failure to comply could result in up to $1,000 in fines.
Supervisor Dennis Stopen elaborated on the subject during a recent meeting. "If there’s reasons that it can’t be done by the 31st, you should petition the Town Board for an extension," Stopen explained. "It needs to be done or we need to know why it’s not being done," he added.
Correspondence at the meeting included a letter from one resident in that Water District. In their letter, the Latonas wrote, "We’ve lived here in Versailles since 1948, we supply our own water from our spring to the fire company … we’ve fought fires, filled wells that were low … our water’s been tested and passed by the health department." They added, "We do not want to be hooked up to the water system … we want our own water."
The town consulted an attorney about the situation. "This isn’t a question that we have any options, it’s a mandatory hook-up," Stopen explained.
He went on to present the guidelines for those who want to use their own water in addition to the public water supply.
"For public health reasons, if in fact you intend to use the current water system for watering your lawn and garden, pool filling and washing cars, there’s no way it can be hooked up so it can cross-contaminate the municipal water," Stopen said. "So it needs to be completely, independently isolated from the municipal water supply," he added.
Two members of the newly created Versailles Water Board were present at the meeting. Carol Denny and Wendy Maines asked questions and presented concerns to the board in the hopes of dispelling rumors and replacing them with facts.
Stopen welcomed their input. "The whole idea for the water board is to eliminate rumors," he explained.
Carol Denny requested copies of all past correspondence pertaining to the Versailles Water District so that she can be better prepared to respond to concerned residents.
"There’s a lot of rumors and questions going around," she explained. "This seems to be sort of a surprise to many people that it’s a mandatory hookup," she added.
Town Clerk Peg Watkins agreed to provide Denny with the letters.
All easements needed for the Central Water District have been acquired except for one. In efforts to satisfy land owners, Stopen sent a letter to Assessor Mary Bailey requesting research to determine if a reduction in the property owner’s assessment is available.
Stopen also responded to concerns about the maintenance of the easements. "The Town Board agrees that the water district will be responsible for the maintenance and repairs of normal use conditions of the transmission line," Stopen explained. He added, "I’ve confirmed with our highway superintendent, Dan Stang, that we’re going to notify the landowners when it s practical and reasonable to schedule maintenance for the properties."
Stopen went on to express his gratitude to those who complied. "I want to thank the landowners that signed over the easements, I hope we’ve addressed everything for you," Stopen said. On behalf of the board, he added "I want everybody here to know that as far as I’m concerned and this board’s concerned, there’s always going to be respect for the landowners in this community, and we’ll do our utmost to work with the landowners in a courteous and professional way."
In other news pertaining to the Central Water District, Stopen shared information about the findings from the Very Low Frequency Survey that was done in an attempt to locate potential new water sites in the town. "There were several promising areas … the next phase would be to do a test drill on the most promising," he shared.
Water Superintendent Robin Clark had more news. "They have located some well sites off Hooker Hill Road and we’ll be putting a roadway up into there in the next week or two," he said.
Some existing wells in the town will be cleaned out to try to improve water flow.
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