City approves land purchase for well usage
Laura Thomas
Issue date: 2/6/09 Section: Community
An ordinance that passed council Tuesday night could save the city tens of thousands of dollars in electricity costs annually.
Oxford City Council unanimously passed an ordinance permitting a permanent easement of land that would allow for the reopening and operation of a well field that supplies water to the Oxford community.
The well field is located near Trenton-Oxford Road and Four Mile Creek.
An easement allows another person, or, in this case a local government, the right to use land for a specific purpose.
According to Mike Dreisbach, Oxford service director, reopening the well is necessary and will save the city close to $60,000 in electricity costs annually, in addition to providing more locally pumped water.
Currently, much of the city's water comes from the Seven Mile Pumping Station, which is located 12 miles away at a lower elevation than the city of Oxford. Pumping water to a higher elevation for this distance is expensive, Dreisbach said.
The proposed well field near Trenton-Oxford Road is located next to the city's water treatment plant.
However, in order to re-open the well field, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) requires a 300-foot isolation zone surrounding all sides of a production well.
The land required for this isolation zone is approximately 4.09 acres and is currently owned by the Robert G. Sherman Trust. Without obtaining an easement for this land, the city of Oxford can not meet OEPA regulations nor re-open the well.
The passing of the ordinance is important to city councilor Doug Ross.
"I know that clean drinking water will become scarcer and scarcer and city council staff has been excellent about securing drinking water for our future," Ross said.
Oxford Vice Mayor Ken Bogard said he agreed that the passing was essential.
"This benefits all the citizens in the city of Oxford," Bogard said. "Water is a precious commodity wherever you live. It is a very important to service the citizens and students with water."
Oxford City Council unanimously passed an ordinance permitting a permanent easement of land that would allow for the reopening and operation of a well field that supplies water to the Oxford community.
The well field is located near Trenton-Oxford Road and Four Mile Creek.
An easement allows another person, or, in this case a local government, the right to use land for a specific purpose.
According to Mike Dreisbach, Oxford service director, reopening the well is necessary and will save the city close to $60,000 in electricity costs annually, in addition to providing more locally pumped water.
Currently, much of the city's water comes from the Seven Mile Pumping Station, which is located 12 miles away at a lower elevation than the city of Oxford. Pumping water to a higher elevation for this distance is expensive, Dreisbach said.
The proposed well field near Trenton-Oxford Road is located next to the city's water treatment plant.
However, in order to re-open the well field, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) requires a 300-foot isolation zone surrounding all sides of a production well.
The land required for this isolation zone is approximately 4.09 acres and is currently owned by the Robert G. Sherman Trust. Without obtaining an easement for this land, the city of Oxford can not meet OEPA regulations nor re-open the well.
The passing of the ordinance is important to city councilor Doug Ross.
"I know that clean drinking water will become scarcer and scarcer and city council staff has been excellent about securing drinking water for our future," Ross said.
Oxford Vice Mayor Ken Bogard said he agreed that the passing was essential.
"This benefits all the citizens in the city of Oxford," Bogard said. "Water is a precious commodity wherever you live. It is a very important to service the citizens and students with water."
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Thirsty Student
posted 2/06/09 @ 8:07 AM EST
Sounds interesting. Having a safe, viable option for drinking water, especially for a town that is situated at a higher elevation than the surrounding land, is quite important. (Continued…)
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