Water is finally coming to homes in Vinton County’s Garrett Ridge area
By: Jacob Motta
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MCARTHUR, Ohio (WOUB) — After decades of waiting, some Vinton County residents are getting access to clean, reliable water.
A $799,000 federal grant will help fund the engineering and construction of an extension of Jackson County Water Co.’s service lines into the Garrett Ridge area of Vinton County.
The extension will include about 10 miles of new water line that will serve about 52 residents, said Terri Fetherolf, director of the Vinton County Commissioners Development Department.
Other homes in the Garrett Ridge area that already have water service will also benefit from improved water pressure.
The funding is being awarded through the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, which provides federal aid to communities that do not have household drinking water services.
Jackson County Water Co. plays a huge part in this plan.
“Jackson County Water is bringing their lines up from Jackson County, so they need to strengthen some of their existing lines, expand those, or run parallel lines so there is sufficient flow – pressure,” Fetherolf said.
“That’s been Jackson County Water’s goal. I think all of the water companies that we work with have attempted to install lines that provide for future expansion,” Fetherolf said.
Residents from the Garrett Ridge area have hauled water to their homes from vending stations within the county. The two water vending stations were never meant to be permanent solutions to the water problem, Fetherolf said.
“We don’t want people to have to do that any longer,” she said.
The next step in the process is for engineers to survey the project before ground can be broken.