City seeks state, federal grants to extend water to Clinton Township wells

City staff asked the utilities committee to endorse applications for state and federal funding to extend municipal water to the Crystal Avenue area of Clinton Township, a project aimed at serving roughly 112 parcels and about 46 households now relying on private wells.

The project team said the city will submit an application to the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) and pursue a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) administered by Knox County, seeking a combined funding package with a 5–10% local cost share if awarded.

The water extension would reach parcels that now have public sewer access but no public water, staff said. The presentation cited intermittent positive E. coli test results, ongoing filtration costs for some households and potential limits on growth where water quality and quantity are marginal.

"This is sort of a restart because the last set of grant applications received reasonably good scores, but not enough to be funded," said Staff member, describing the renewed effort to assemble a package for the new OPWC program.

According to staff, the township trustee, Donna Hosteller, has passed a resolution supporting a co-application to OPWC. The county commissioners have agreed to serve as the lead applicant for the CDBG portion of the package.

Staff estimated construction for the combined project at about $1,000,000, plus or minus, and said the broader water system master plan for the area is about $5,000,000. The immediate project would build a backbone transmission line that staff said would both serve the Crystal Avenue neighborhood and improve service to the southern industrial park; the computer model reportedly supports classifying the work as a transmission main, which could exempt the affected parcels from service-availability fees if so designated.

The city team said about 28 of the households are owner-occupied, an important detail for CDBG eligibility because owner-occupants could apply for assistance to bring a new connection into their houses. Staff emphasized the city cannot mandate that property owners connect to municipal water; connection would be optional.

If the grant applications are successful the city would return to council for authorization to bid and award a construction contract. Staff said the grants, if awarded, would allow up to two years for project completion under current program rules and that timing is important given construction cost trends.

Questions from committee members focused on who is covered by the project, the affordability of connections, the effect on existing septic service, and where the city’s share of any match would come from. Staff said the city could draw from its water improvement fund, which is supported in part by a 40% surcharge paid by Clinton Township customers, and that the city would refine cost estimates as the application process advances.

A decision to endorse the applications was presented as flexible: staff asked for the committee’s blessing either at that meeting or the next, and said specific authorization to bid and award would follow if funding is secured.