Aqua to replace more than a mile of water main on Columbus Avenue
Dec. 16—ASHTABULA — Aqua Ohio plans to replace a 20 — inch water main along Columbus Avenue, beginning Wednesday.
The project will replace 6,050 linear feet of 20-inch water main and new service lines for 121 customers from East 6th Street south to East 27th Street. Work is expected to conclude in July 2024.
The purpose of the project is to improve service reliability by replacing the 75-year old main, Aqua officials said.
Other details about the project include:
—Improving fire protection in the area by increasing the number of hydrants along the route from 14 to 22.
—Increasing the number of valves from 26 to 41. Valves are used to isolate outages during repairs or maintenance.
The project will begin at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and East 6th Street. Contractors will proceed south toward East 27th Street.
The new water mains will be constructed of ductile iron pipe which is lighter, stronger and more corrosion-resistant than the cast iron it will replace, said Aqua Ohio's Area Manager Matt Perry.
"We're continually evaluating our water mains based on their age, expected material service life and the number of breaks in an area," Perry said. "This is a really big project, but this main is 75 years old and has begun to show its age. The new main will help assure another 75-years of reliability along this important Ashtabula corridor."
Union Industrial Contractors of Ashtabula was selected to construct the first phase of the $4.1 million project.
Work is expected to be conducted from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Personnel will be directing traffic to maintain flow. Drivers are asked to use extra caution in the area and may want to consider alternate routes to avoid congestion.
Aqua Ohio is the Buckeye State's largest investor-owned drinking water and wastewater utility and serves about 500,000 residents in 19 counties. Visit AquaAmerica.com for more information.
