Van Wert plans to buy 80 acres for reservoir

9/16/2004

DELPHOS, Ohio - City council plans to buy 80 acres just north of U.S. 30 in Van Wert County for a 500-million-gallon reservoir.

Council Tuesday approved a first reading of legislation to buy the property about two miles outside town for $527,000. The city hopes to complete construction of a reservoir, water treatment plant, and related infrastructure in 2007.

"We've been looking at potential sites for approximately two years," Council President Robert Ulm said.

Delphos, a city of about 7,000 people that straddles the Allen-Van Wert County line, has been struggling for decades to improve its water supply.

To date, it has secured nearly $3 million in state and federal matching funds to build its own reservoir and treatment system.