BEAVERCREEK — The city and water department meet to discuss the complaints of the poor water quality in the Beavercreek area.

Local businesses and residents voiced their concerns about the high levels of lead in the water and wanted the issue researched. Beavercreek City Councilman Zack Upton was one of the residents that felt the quality of the water could be improved.

During a recent meeting with the city and Greene County Sanitary Engineer Ron Volkerding met to discuss the issues with the water and solutions, during which Volkerding discussed a five-year plan the water department would like to implement and asked for the city’s participation.

He said that 90 percent of the water use comes from residents and the other 10 percent from businesses. He said the high levels of lead come from residents that have old plumbing.

According to Volkerding, Greene County water meets the standards of the USEPA and Ohio EPA Lead and Copper Rule. He discussed the water quality, cost and the implementation of a five-year plan.

One part of the plan is to repainting the Gerspacher and Summerfield water tanks and to construct a new water line as part of the Shakertown Road widening project, and the improvement of the water services.

“I’ve always paid very close attention to water service issues while I’ve been on city council over the years because to some degree, I feel we could get a better product with a different provider,” Upton said. “But, after listening to the engineer, the county, and having some additional discussions with them, knowing the five-year plan is to provide services to not only Beavercreek but to the entire county, I feel much better.”

Upton feels good about working with the water department and hopes that they will either lower our rates for the water or provide soft water, which is something that is a possibility for the City of Beavercreek.

“So, if you run into the county commissioner or a county representative, tell them that you would like to have soft water, because that’s a possibility. It’s in the plans and could very well happen,” Upton said.

Even though the goals of the five-year plan have not been decided as of yet, by working together, the city and the water department plan to hear and address the residents and businesses concerns.

By Danielle Coots

For the News-Current

Danielle Coots is a freelance writer for Greene County News.