Cleveland water is on its way to the historic district

by Sue Serdinak

June 29 village council meeting

Alex Margevicius, commissioner of Cleveland Water, opened a presentation to Richfield Village Council about the public utility being delivered to Richfield Village. Margevicius said he and former village Mayor Ralph Waszak started talking about Cleveland providing water to Richfield over 25 years ago.

At that time, a village official secured a site on Broadview Road as a high point and ideal location for a water tower. In 2015, then-Mayor Bobbie Beshara chose a different site for a tower, in the industrial district, which was not at the high point of the community.

For the next several years, Cleveland Water recalculated the cost of building a taller tower at 2964 Brecksville Rd. Smaller businesses in the historic district have been eagerly waiting for city water.

“This has been a long time coming.  It took a lot of patience for us to get here,” said Margevicius. “We’re thrilled on our end that we’ve gotten to this point to bring water service to this part of Richfield and improving water to the rest of Richfield as well.”

Margevicicus said that the 214-foot, million-gallon water tower should be up and operational by the fourth quarter of 2024.

In the meantime, Cleveland Water will construct restricted water lines on West Streetsboro and Broadview roads in the historic district that should be operational in December 2022. Pressure in the lines will be lower than optimal until the tower is complete. CW will supply property owners in that district with auxiliary pumps to boost the pressure, if owners sign up for water service by Sept. 1.

Engineers from CW explained to the audience that the estimated cost of the project is $19.6 million – $2.4 million for water mains, $11.8 million for the tower and $5.4 million for a pump station.

The pump station will be a one-story brick building to be constructed at 3921 Brecksville Rd. on village property.

Cost to property owners

Property owners who want water are required to pay $112.30 per foot of property frontage. The owner is also responsible for tapping into the water line, connecting from the street line to the home and disconnecting from well-water lines.  CW charges a monthly fee of $9.20, starting with the connection to the main line.

Property owners can pay the frontage fee as they sign up or they can sign up for an interest-free, five-year payment plan with Cleveland Water.

The estimated cost for the tap-in is $5,000. Fabrizi Construction, contractor for the project, will provide the tap-in connection at no charge for properties as they construct the line, if owners sign up with Cleveland Water for service by Sept. 1, 2022.

Property owners who do not sign up for water service by Sept. 1, but apply later, must have an approved contractor make the connection and pay for the connection and any road repairs.

According to Planning and Zoning Director Brian Frantz, “The mayor and village council really stepped up and contributed more $650,000 to keep the cost lower. Originally the cost was $182 per foot of property frontage.”

Cleveland Water also absorbed $380,000 of the construction costs.

Property owners are required to fill out an application and provide a site plan, which can be hand drawn for residential property, to start the process of getting Cleveland water to their buildings.  ∞