Congressman Balderson Supports Rural Water Development
PHILO, Ohio – Water is a necessity that many rural residents lack because their wells cannot produce the volumes needed to support their households.
Such was the case for several families in Harrison and Brush Creek Townships until Ohio’s 12th District U.S. House of Representatives Office was able to help secure a $1.75 Million dollar federal grant that provided the infrastructure needed for distributing the essential resource.
“These are some of the projects… These are the most important,” Ohio 12th District U.S. Congressman Troy Balderson said. “And our office really focuses on water, sewer, roads and bridges. We are honored to be able to do this. This will now accommodate 250 residents down here. We’re excited about that. It’s always exciting to get projects back into your congressional district that you represent. And especially projects back in your hometown. This is my home county, I’m really excited about this and these are meaningful projects that we are getting done and they do make a difference.”
The Virginia Ridge-Irish Ridge Water Project will allow for an improved quality of life for the residents and allow for additional property development and future home development.
“This project started with a petition from a lady here on Irish Ridge Road and then it just expanded from there,” Muskingum County Water and Sewer Projects Director Don Madden said. “We thought this was going to start out serving maybe 50 houses and then as word spread that we were bringing water to the area, it expanded to 250 homes. And that’s when the, let’s say the cost of the project, you know obviously it increases. We started looking for additional grant funding and that’s when Troy’s office stepped up and really helped us to make this project possible.”
The water comes from a wellfield along the Muskingum River, where it gets treated and piped from the valley to the countryside. The current infrastructure has been built to allow for future expansion and service for many years to come.
