By Bill Debus
Fairport Harbor’s water treatment plant is on the verge of being demolished.
Village government leaders previously announced that the plant would be disconnected and demolished after the city of Painesville began supplying Fairport Harbor with bulk water.
Fairport Harbor started receiving bulk water from Painesville on Oct. 6, village Administrator Administrator Amy Cossick said in a Nov. 22 email.
At the Nov. 21 Village Council meeting, Cossick said the abatement of asbestos and other hazardous materials at the plant was completed Nov. 17.
“We are waiting on the final plans from CT Consultants to cut and cap the water lines at the plant, and then we will be ready for the demolition, which we anticipate will be in early December,” she said.
CT Consultants, which is based in Mentor, provides engineering services to Fairport Harbor on a contractual basis. The firm has played a major role in guiding the village to transition from operating its own water plant, to acquiring bulk water that is treated by the city of Painesville and distributed to Fairport Harbor.
Fairport Harbor’s water treatment plant, located at 5 High St., was built nearly 100 years ago. In recent years, village government leaders noted that the plant had become a costly place to maintain and upgrade.
In addition, the plant is located along a section of Lake Erie shoreline that has often been touted as a prime spot for future economic development.
Earlier this year, Fairport Harbor advertised for separate bids for demolition of the water plant and abatement of asbestos and removal of hazardous materials from the building. Contractors also were invited to submit a combined bid to perform both endeavors.
Council selected Moderalli Excavating Inc. of Poland, Ohio, to demolish the water plant at a cost of about $316,708.
The panel chose ProQuality Demolition of Campbell, Ohio, to conduct asbestos abatement and hazardous material removal. ProQuality submitted a bid of $31,016 for this aspect of the project.
Fairport Harbor also launched a separate project to recognize the role that the water plant has played in the village’s history.
Cossick said village government hired StreamOhio.Live to create a documentary about the water plant. That documentary will be completed before Christmas, and posted on the fairportharbor.org website for public viewing, she added.
In September 2022, the village entered into a 20-year agreement to purchase drinkable bulk water that is treated and supplied by Painesville. Fairport Harbor Village Council and Painesville City Council each approved the contract, which can be extended in 20-year increments.
Fairport Harbor then launched four major projects in connection with the bulk-water distribution agreement.
First, Village Council authorized an endeavor intended to improve Fairport Harbor’s primary connection to Painesville’s water system — a valve vault on Richmond Street.
The vault needed upgrades consisting of two pressure-regulating valves and a master meter for billing purposes. Installation of the new valves and meter were key items required for Fairport to become an active water customer of the city of Painesville.
These improvements were completed in October.
While Cossick provided an update at the Nov. 21 council meeting on the water plant demolition, Village Engineer Clyde Hadden spoke about progress being made on two other projects related to the village’s water delivery system:
• Construction of a new water tower with larger capacity and demolishing the current elevated water tank on Orchard Street.
The new tower will be constructed on the property of the village Service Department at 1340 East St. Hadden said the project has started, with some land clearing and utility work.
• Construction of a secondary water-main connection on Saint Clair Street between Fairport Harbor and Painesville.
Hadden said that Phase 1 of this project “is substantially complete.” As of Nov. 21, some asphalt and road striping work still needed to be addressed, he said.
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GET WET! 