The current Ripley Water Treatment plant is in need of repairs.

The current Ripley Water Treatment plant is in need of repairs.

<p>Ripley Mayor Nowana Bingaman takes questions from the public during the Oct. 20 meeting on the village’s water system sale ballot issue.</p>

Ripley Mayor Nowana Bingaman takes questions from the public during the Oct. 20 meeting on the village’s water system sale ballot issue.

RIPLEY, Ohio — In less than a week, Ripley voters will venture to the polls to determine the future of the village’s public water system as they vote “for” or “against” the ballot issue on the sale of the water system.

The Village of Ripley hosted its final public meeting on the ballot issue to sell the water system to Brown County Rural Water Association at the Ripley Library Annex on Oct. 20, with Ripley Mayor Nowana Bingaman explaining the current state of the water system and taking questions from those in attendance.

Also in attendance to answer questions from the public was Brown County Rural Water Association General Manager Dan Sarbach and Ripley Village Administrator Wayne Gates.

While attendance numbers were slim during the meeting on Ripley’s water system hosted by the Village of Ripley on Oct. 6, there were approximately 40 members of the general public in attendance at the Oct. 20 meeting, many of them with questions on water cost and quality, concerned with the difference in charges if they were to vote in favor of selling the water system or the charges if voting against the sale.

Water customers can expect to pay an average monthly bill of $106.83 per 3,000 gallons if voters choose to keep the current public water system rather than voting in favor of selling it during the Nov. 2 election, based on information provided by Ripley Village Administrator Wayne Gates.

If Ripley voters choose to vote in favor of the issue to sell the current public water system and go with the bid that was accepted by Brown County Rural Water Association, the average monthly bill for 3,000 gallons will be $31.18, according to information provided by Gates.

The significant increase in what Ripley water customers will be paying if voters choose not to sell the water system is due to a “per user surcharge” of $76.62 a month to pay for the repair of the current water plant, to address Ohio Environmental Protection Agency violations/recommendations that have accumulated, and to hire a full-time and a part-time operator.

If the vote to sell passes, the Village of Ripley will still be left with approximately $1.5 million in debt on the current water plant being used, and there will be a surcharge of approximately $6 to Ripley water customers to pay off the remaining debt.

According to Gates, it would cost approximately $2.5 million to cover existing Ohio EPA violations and do repairs to make sure the water treatment plant and distribution system are operating properly, and $2.5 million more to cover existing debt for a total of $5 million.

“I think selling the water system to Brown County Rural Water is a ‘no brainer,’” said Ripley resident Marlay Price.

There will also be future costs for additional maintenance and crew, which could further increase water bills if the voters choose not to sell the system.

Ripley’s current water system has several existing EPA violations and recommendations to address if voters choose to keep the system and vote “against” the sale.

These violations/recommendations include: faulty gasket on outside salt storage tank, 37% water loss and no plan to address the loss, no plan for meter calibrations and/or replacement program, no water well maintenance program, need to conduct periodic residential surveys on premises to determine potential cross-connections to consumer’s water system through which contaminants could back-flow into public water system, no contingency plan or map of distribution system, no map of valve locations, no map of well fields, no map of surface water intakes, no map of emergency connections, must create and utilize a master plan/capital improvement plan for water system, and a water budget must be available to allow infrastructure repairs and maintenance.

There are also serious issues with the village’s fire hydrants with some not functioning.

“I lose sleep over this at night, because I worry about everyone’s health, I worry about your properties, I worry about fire hydrants not working,” said Bingaman.

There are also repairs that need to be made to the two water storage tanks located on Rankin Hill.

If the vote to sell the water system to BCRWA passes, Sarbach said they plan to repair the two storage tanks on Rankin Hill.

Over the years, Ripley residents have dealt with public water issues including brown or black water that stains tubs and toilets, corrosion destroying water heaters and appliances that require water, low pressure, and sediment build up in lines.

When questioned about water quality, Sarbach said Ripley should see an improvement if the vote to sell the system passes on Nov. 2.

A number of Ripley residents have said they will not drink or cook with Ripley’s current public water.

Sarbach said some areas of the village may still experience brown water, but for the most part the issues of brown water will be gone.

“There are probably going to be areas that are problematic more so now that will continue to be, but through flushing (it should improve),” said Sarbach.

“You have the ultimate say,” Bingaman said to the voters in attendance.

“The citizens of Ripley have the ultimate say in finally getting their drinking water from a clean, reliable source,” said Bingaman. “The council and the mayor have recognized the village’s inability to afford to repair and maintain the system and they have given you the power to make the change.”

Also in attendance to voice concerns during the Oct. 20 meeting were representatives of the Ripley-Union-Lewis-Huntington School District, including RULH Superintendent Jamie Wilkins, expressing how the school district would struggle to cover the cost of water charges if the vote to sell the water system fails.

If Ripley residents vote to accept Brown County Rural Water’s bid as the new distributor, the current treatment plant will become dormant.

If the vote passes to sell to BCRWA, it could take up to a year-and-a-half to complete construction on new ties to the water lines.

The current Ripley water treatment plant has been in operation since 2007, and is in need of numerous repairs after only 14 years of operation. Ripley resident Frankie Schumacher questioned as to why the problems with Ripley’s water system have been allowed to “build-up” over the years.

“Why was it let go for so long?” said Schumacher.

Bingaman, who was appointed to the mayor seat earlier this year following the resignation of previous mayor Dallas Kratzer, said she and current council members were unaware of the serious issues with the water treatment plant and current water system.

“I wish I had an answer for that,” Bingaman responded to Schumacher. “We did not know that the water system, the water plant, was in such bad shape.”

“It’s been six administrations since this plant opened. Somebody in that six administrations had to know what’s going on here,” said Schumacher. “And you’re the elected people, (elected) to take care of us.”

“Council was only told what they thought they needed to know to keep from experiencing problems,” said Bingaman. “This is a problem that has went on for a long time.”

“We were flat lied to just like the public was,” said Ripley Council Member Charles Poole.

“Unfortunately, it was not this administration. We cannot do anything other than what we are doing,” said Bingaman. “There is no money to repair that system. If we would have known about this 10 years ago, we probably could have made a difference.”

Bingaman said, as of Oct. 19 the balance in the village’s water fund was $23,000, not near the amount needed for the repairs needed.

“I just want what’s best for the village. We have to move forward,” said Bingaman.