March 08, 2007

‘Cold day’: Water flowing into Delphos reservoir

By BART MILLS
bmills@limanews.com 419-993-2184

DELPHOS — With the flip of a single switch, four decades of Delphos water woes have been washed away.

Bundled against a wind chill dipping below zero, Delphos officials stood at the base of their new, 58-acre reservoir Wednesday as Mayor Jerry Neumeier flipped the switch to begin pumping in water. But it was City Council President Bob Ulm who had the line of the day. “They always said it would be a cold day when we got this done. Well it is and we have,” Ulm said.

For Delphos residents and local leaders, that cold day marked the end of a more than 40-year effort to resolve a long-standing problem providing a local source for water. Public offices have been won and lost over the issue of how and where the city would get that water. Neumeier himself first ran for mayor in 2000 with the promise of solving the water woes. Flipping that switch Wednesday meant he kept that promise, he said.

“That was one of my main platforms and we got it accomplished,” said Neumeier, who is not seeking re-election to the mayor’s post. “It’s been a long, long road and we learned a lot along the way.”   

It will take about four months to fill the reservoir with water from the Little Auglaize River. Meanwhile, crews will begin work on transmission lines and complete the $12.4 million water-treatment plant at Waterworks Park. Officials said they hope to have water running to homes by the end of September.

For Ulm, it’s a moment that was long in coming but well worth the wait. “I was always optimistic it would happen,” Ulm said. “There were days when we wondered if it would ever happen, but the council and the community were committed to see this through.”

When completed, the reservoir and treatment plant could provide income to Delphos.

The city is poised to sell water to neighboring communities, including Fort Jennings and Ottoville. But more important to Neumeier is the role that water will play in the city’s economic development.“This is a great moment for Delphos but it’s not just for us.This is really for the whole region,” Neumeier said.