The current pipes in the village are two inches wide and have lead connections. Burns said the water has been tested for lead, but the village has not found any evidence of it.
In some places, Burns said, village workers have seen pipes so thin workers could poke through them.
The state grant came from a $250 million statewide program authorized by House Bill 168 and funded by American Rescue Plan Act money, Burns said.
“When I got the call from the Ohio Development people right before Thanksgiving, ...that just made the rest of my year,” Burns said.
Burns said the infrastructure work would likely have been done slowly over time without the grant. With the grant, the village doesn’t have to pay anything out of its own funds to fix the pipes.
The pipes will be upgraded to six inches, which Burns said will allow the village to add fire hydrants. Some streets currently don’t have the water infrastructure needed for a fire hydrant Burns said, but these pipes would allow adding hydrants.
Burns said villagers will see clearer water coming out of the tap and more fire hydrants on the streets. The village will also be able to expand its current water infrastructure for more housing, he said, and the village plans to move on to fixing roads once the water pipes are fixed.
Village manager Josué Salmerón said the grant is a way to get major infrastructure work done.
“It’s going to mean greater, better-quality water,” Salmerón said.
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