Well shutdown blocks water supply for some Coventry Twp. residents

A small group of Coventry Township residents on East Pace Avenue have been living without a water source for more than a month after a line from a community well they shared was abruptly capped.

For Tyler Miller, the shutoff came as a shock that could end up costing him $25,000 or more to fix, he said Tuesday.

The Pace Avenue resident said he has been showering at his girlfriend's house since his faucets dripped dry just before Christmas.

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He has posted a number of profanity-laced signs at his home about the problem and reached out to township, county, state and federal officials while he explores his options.

Coventry Township residents told they need 'a new source of water'

Miller said his water woes started three months ago when the township sent residents connected to the well a letter that it would be sealed in April.

In the Oct. 31 letter signed by trustee George Beckham, the residents were informed that the leaking well had "negatively impacted Township and County roads in its vicinity."

Further, the letter cited township discussions with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and Summit County Public Health in the decision to decommission and seal the well.

"As a result of this decision, it will be necessary for each of you to arrange for a new source of water for your respective properties," the letter reads.

A Summit County Public Health inspection report at Miller's address conducted in October 2020 found unacceptable levels of coliform in the drinking water, and recommended that a contractor be hired to clean and chlorinate the system. It recommended retesting after the action to ensure acceptable bacterial counts had been achieved.

The township held a meeting on Nov. 16 to discuss options the residents would have to address the problem, but trustees said only a couple of those affected attended.

Relief possible, but years down the road

During a meeting Tuesday, township trustees discussed potential infrastructure developments that could eventually bring relief to some of the stranded residents. The joint project with Akron would extend water from the clocktower area to the High Pointe Villas apartment building on South Turkeyfoot Road.

But details and funding for such a project haven't been finalized — and it could be years before actual work begins. Property owners beyond the apartment building would have to commit to city water before an extension would be considered.

"This is not going to happen overnight," said trustee Edward Diebold.

Compounding the problem is a lack of information about who was connected to the community well and their addresses.

"One of the problems with this community well is that they would never tell us really where these (users) are," Beckham said. "That's why we called the health department."

The health department, in turn, contacted the Ohio EPA, Beckham said.

“They looked at the well and said they weren’t OK with (it),” he said.

Beckham said he has communicated with Miller about the issue, but trustees are limited in what they can do. The communications with Miller haven't provided a solution, he said.

"I keep telling Tyler we can't spend money on private property," he said.

Trustees unsure who sealed water line

Diebold said the township didn't cut the water supply to Miller and the other residents, and trustees don't know who did. Like Miller, they believe the line was sealed by someone who uses the well to stop leaks that flow onto South Turkeyfoot Road.

Miller said it was premature to cut the supply before the April deadline.

"We were going to fix it, and they said it was unsafe for us to be digging that close to the road," he said.

Miller said any qualified contractor, himself included, could repair the line so it could continue to supply water until the April deadline, but trustees have told him its proximity to Turkeyfoot Road is problematic.

Sharing a well

Township Administrator Anna Bryant said at the Tuesday meeting that the health department is permitting small groups of affected homeowners to dig wells on their properties.

“The health department will allow them to share a well with two or three families with an easement,” she said.

Miller said he's also called Summit County Public Health, state Rep. Bob Young and U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes about the problem. But he said he is gradually becoming resigned to the probability he and other residents won't get direct help from the township with the problem.

"My whole issue was that they didn't offer any assistance or nothing to us," he said. "Their answer was run a hose to (my) neighbor's house."

An 'unbelievable' situation

Young said in a phone interview Friday that he spoke with Miller about the issue and investigated the problem with Bryant. He called Miller's plight "unbelievable," but said the state EPA is requiring that the well be decommissioned.

"I'm concerned with it; he's got such a unique problem," Young said. "I'm open to some type of program to help people replace these failing wells."

Young said he planned to contact his legislative aide to explore the issue, but any assistance wouldn't be immediate.

Miller said he operates a small business and will have trouble getting a loan to cover the costs of a well. He said if he’d known about the problem beforehand, his decision to buy the Pace Avenue home might have been different.

“I just turned 36 and I just started my business last year, and I don’t have any extra money for a well right now,” he said. “I probably wouldn’t have put everything into the house.”

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Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Abrupt water well shutdown vexes pocket of Coventry Township