The village of Donnelsville will receive $5 million from the state to connect over 200 residents to a public water system.
Every household in the Clark County village currently uses private wells. But residents have dealt with PCE contamination in their drinking water wells for decades. PCE is a chemical often used for dry-cleaning or degreasing metal, and prolonged exposure to it increases the risk of cancer.
The source of contamination is currently unknown, according to the U.S. EPA.
In 2018, the U.S. EPA put the Donnelsville aquifer on the National Priorities List — also known as Superfund sites — to further investigate the degree and source of contamination.
That’s why the village received the largest grant in the sixth round of H2Ohio’s water infrastructure grants.
Anne Vogel, director of the Ohio EPA, said the current solution of putting filtration systems on wells isn’t sustainable.
“So it's not that people in Donnelsville are being exposed currently, but always, the better, long-term solution is to connect them to a nearby public water system,” Vogel said.
Last year, the village also received $700,000 to complete engineering studies to decide the most feasible way for the community to be connected to public water.
The project will cost about $8 million in total. The plan Clark County favors is extending a water line down Ohio 235 to Donnelsville.
The village and Clark County are still pursuing additional funding options to cover the full price tag, said Donnelsville Councilman Joe Taylor.
“Neither the village nor any resident of the village really wants to incur any debt associated with the construction of this,” Taylor said.
Donnelsville residents are still paying off debt related to the installation of its sewer system, Taylor said.
“There's certainly a high need for a public water system here, but there's also a lot of need for some grants and assistance by all the power as it be,” said Taylor.
Currently, no entity has assumed responsibility for the contamination, leaving it up to the village, county or state to pay for remediation.
