| 8/7/2020 -
Grantsville's four million dollar water improvement project is moving forward, according to Fred Rader from the Mid=Ohio Valley Development Council.
Rader told the Hur Herald, "We are anticipating authorization within the next week or two to advertise for bids. We believe that we have submitted all of the required information to USDA in order for them to authorize bidding."
GRANTSVILLES $4 MILLION WATER PROJECT SLOWED
5/12/2020 - Grantsville's $4 plus million water plant improvement grants and loans have been slowed.
Fred L. Rader, Community Development Director of the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Council, told the Hur Herald:
"We are awaiting PSC approval and a few other minor items before we can get authorization by USDA to bid. Due to the pandemic' the PSC case has been pushed back and now has a decision date of September. So, it looks like we will bid late summer or early fall."
The project had been scheduled for bid in 2019 or early 2020.
Here is an overview of the project:
Project Grantee: Town of Grantsville
Counties Served: Calhoun, Distressed
Basic Agency: USDA â Rural Development
Goal/Strategy: ARC Goal 3 â Invest in critical infrastructure â especially broadband: transportation, including the Appalachian Development Highway System; and water/wastewater systems.
State Strategy 3.2.1 â Provide support for expansion or rehabilitation of basic infrastructure to improve community quality of life and facilitate economic development.
Purpose: It is the purpose of this project is to make necessary improvements to the 700gpm Grantsville water treatment plant to secure future uninterrupted delivery of potable water to the majority of Calhoun County citizens.
Grants and loans from USDA and ARC totaling $4,168,070
Project Description:
This water treatment plant supplies water to the Town of Grantsville and resells water to Mt. Zion Public Service District (PSD) and Pleasant Hill PSD. First, as a preliminary project, the Town of Grantsville will mechanically remove mud from the sludge basins that have been inoperable for 6 years. Next, this project will refurbish portions of the existing water treatment facility that are either inoperable or are nearing the end of their useful life. Finally, this project will construct a new water storage tank to enable the Town to cease renting a deficient tank from Pleasant Hill PSD and expand the water storage capacity of the plant to comply with Town of Grantsville Source Water Projection plan that requires a minimum of three days of stored water.
Strategic Rationale:
This project will address four current problems for the Town of Grantsville water treatment plant: 1) the two 52,000g sludge basins located at the plant that are currently and have been filled with mud for 6 years, 2) the deteriorating mechanics of the existing water plant that are inoperable or will soon reach the end of their useful life, 3) the deteriorated and insufficient storage tank the Town currently rents from Pleasant Hill PSD, and 4) the limited storage capacity of the water treatment plant.
This project will address all four of these problems and increase the longevity of the Grantsville water treatment plant; doing nothing with lead with certainty to a failure of the facility and the loss of potable water to customers of Grantsville, Mt. Zion PSD, and Pleasants Hill PSD (PER page 49) . This project will serve the 2017 Regional Development Plan and Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy strategic investment goal 3 and objective 3.1 found on pages 19 and 20 respectively. Insuring the existence of basic infrastructure is an investment in the future of Grantsville as well as the rest of Calhoun County.
Access to water service is a key factor when businesses and services consider their location; ensuring the existence of water service in Calhoun County will improve the ability of communities to implement economic and community development projects.
Fred L. Rader
Community Development Director | 
