COAL GROVE — At Tuesday night’s village council meeting, the council approved plans for the next stage in Coal Grove’s water improvement project.

Engineer Paul Amburgey, of E.L. Robinson, presented Phase II of the water improvement project, which he said, would increase the reliability of the system and improve the quality of water in the village.

Amburgey explained that Phase II would include replacing a mile of the existing 8-inch transmission line from the water plant on Riverside Drive to the 500,000-gallon storage tank on the hill near Lane Street.

“This line was built in 1969,” said Amburgey. “The village has had numerous leaks on this line. Replacing the existing transmission line will increase the reliability of the system.”

Amburgey also said that in the past, catastrophic breaks on that line have resulted in a complete drainage of the 500,000-gallon water tank.

Other work would also be done at the water treatment plant, such as replacing the filter material in the iron and manganese removal filters, replacing a backwash pump and motor, replacing various valves in the plant and adding HVAC ventilation and exhaust fan work.

“The last time this filter media was replaced was I believe 18 years ago,” Amburgey said. “Certainly the work at the treatment plant will help the finished water quality.”

In October, the village council passed an ordinance for a $5 municipal user fee that was added to the utility bill of each residential household, including rental units, and each non-residential customer of the Village of Coal Grove. The fee was proposed by the council in order to repay an EPA loan that the village applied for to replace water lines and make water plant upgrades.

The EPA awarded the village $490,000, with 40 percent being a grant, and the other 60 percent a 30-year, low interest loan.

On Monday, the village opened bids for Phase II of the water improvement project. Amburgey said the job was tentatively awarded to Distel Construction of Portsmouth, who bid $331,873. The plans and the bid recommendations will be sent to the EPA for final approval, said Amburgey.

“Then the EPA will study those and schedule the project for loan closing some time in late March,” he said. “Once we receive that approval from the loan closing, we’ll officially award contracts.”

Amburgey said construction should begin in mid-April and must be completed within 150 days.

Phase I of Coal Grove’s water improvement project took place last year, beginning in February through late spring. That phase of the project replaced multiple, non-working, 1940s-era fire hydrants, added main line valves to the water lines and added a new, 700 gallon per minute well at the water treatment plant.