BLOOMINGBURG, Ohio — Equipment failures at Bloomingburg’s water treatment plant forced the village onto well water temporarily and triggered additional testing required by the Ohio EPA, village officials told council members at the village’s June 2 meeting, according to meeting minutes.
Village Administrator Bob Daugherty told council that three water filters installed about two and a half years ago were pulled and inspected after the plant’s tower control system went offline. With the tower control down, the village ran on well water while a new controller was ordered, Daugherty said. Water is tested every day, and the Ohio EPA required additional testing after quality problems arose over a weekend in late May, the minutes said.
Daugherty said treatment chemicals for washing machines were made available at Town Hall for residents who needed them during the outage, and more have since been ordered.
Officials said the village’s planned new water treatment plant was on schedule to break ground Nov. 1.
The water concerns pushed other council business to the side. Members tabled the first reading of an ordinance to modify the village’s zoning rules and establish new side-yard dimensions, with council member Melissa Hixson saying it was not a good time to take up zoning changes amid the water safety concerns. A community cleanup originally set for June 12 was also postponed to late summer because of the extra hours village staff put in during the water issues.
Council also tabled a resolution that would have authorized the mayor to accept a proposal for engineering services tied to the drilling of a fourth village well, after members asked for written verification of how those costs would be billed. A town hall-style meeting with the village’s engineer was planned for June 16 so residents could ask questions directly.
In other action, council approved one-year contracts, through June 30, 2027, for Allen Dawson to continue as the village’s water treatment plant operator and for Kenny Thacker to continue as wastewater treatment plant operator.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Village of Bloomingburg.
