By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com

It may have taken longer than originally planned but the City of Bucyrus was finally able to break ground for its new water treatment plant.

Bucyrus Mayor Jeff Reser spoke to a crowd sitting beneath a white tent in an empty field on Beechgrove Road. As the slate-gray skies threatened rain, Reser jokingly asked if anyone saw the irony of holding a groundbreaking ceremony for a water treatment plant on a rainy day.

In addition to current and former city officials, Reser was joined by architects and contractors involved in the project as well as Fonda Moore, wife of the late mayor Roger Moore.

“To try to put into context with what we’re doing today – you think the history of this city. We’re quickly approaching our 200th year milestone,” Reser said.

Samuel and Mary Norton first settled on the Sandusky River in the 1800s and set the foundation for the city. The headwaters of the Sandusky River form just a few miles down the road from the future home of the city’s new water treatment plant.

“They saw this resource would become an important resource for themselves,” Reser said. Though the couple probably did not imagine how important that resource would be 200 years later, it was fortuitous for today’s community.

“Tens of thousands of people have lived in this community and have been served by this wonderful river,” Reser said.

The first water treatment plant was authorized by voters in 1883. A need for more clean water after World War II outpaced the original plant’s capacity and a new one was completed in 1950. That nearly 70-year-old plant is still in operation today just down from Harmon Field on Lane Street but it’s expected useful years overstretched their mark by two decades.

“It’s a testimony to the people who work there that got it to last this long,” Reser commended. “But you can see that it’s in serious need of replacement and due to some economic constraints it took a little longer than what we hoped. But the day is finally upon us.”

Reser said each plant did not come without sacrifices from the residents and this one will be no different.

“We know that we cannot survive for long without clean water,” Reser said, “and we also have to make sure that water is inexpensive, which is what this plant is bringing to the community.”

The rates have already risen twice now for Bucyrus residents in preparation for the new plant but Reser pointed out that the city still provides clean water to the community at a little over a penny per gallon.

Though the rate increases come as unpleasant news for residents, the city was able to save money with contracts that were below the engineer’s estimates. A substantial sum was money will also be saved due to “near-perfect timing” on locking in interest rates, Reser added.

“I promise the citizens of Bucyrus that all savings that are realized in this project will be passed right back to the citizens of Bucyrus in the form of lower water rates,” said Reser. “We will not collect anything in the way of fees that we don’t absolutely need.”

The new plant will be a state-of-the-art facility that will have no frills but will be highly automated.