SUNBURY — When Mayor Tommy Hatfield gave his state of the village speech recently, one of the projects he said would be completed in 2020 involves the village’s reservoirs.
“The Reservoirs are something that we have been working on for a number of years since Sunbury transitioned to Del-Co Water,” Hatfield said in the Jan. 8 speech. “2020 will be the year where we have dismantled the water plant, installed safety measures for the up-ground reservoirs, and we expect to see the reservoirs officially transition from a water source to a park feature.”
The two reservoirs cover more than 20 acres and are located at 250 Otis St., next to the village’s salt barn and streets department. The public can currently fish at The Reservoirs from dusk to dawn in the summer, and a fishing license is required. There is no boating or swimming allowed. To gain entry, one has to open a fence door then and go up an embankment to get to the bank of the ponds.
The village’s website already considers The Reservoirs to be part of Sunbury’s Parks and Recreation facilities. In addition, the village has produced a Parks Master Plan that mentions The Reservoirs but is yet to be finalized. Finally, engineering consultant Dave Parkinson gave a report on The Reservoirs improvements project at the Jan. 22 meeting of Sunbury Village Council. The Sunbury Upground Reservoir Storm Sewer Improvement spec sheet listed 58 items.
In the approved Sunbury Master Plan, The Reservoirs are also mentioned.
“The Del-Co Water Company, a cooperatively owned private water company established in 1973, serves Sunbury with potable water,” the Master Plan states. “As the county has grown, Del-Co has expanded its service to provide larger diameter water lines for residential and commercial service, as well as fire suppression.
“Sunbury previously used its own up-ground reservoir at the north end of Otis Street in the heart of the village, and treated water at the village water treatment plant,” the Plan continues. “The reservoir and elevated storage tanks had a storage capacity of 61 million gallons.”
The Master Plan went on to state Del-Co’s system now has a billion-gallon up-ground reservoir on Liberty Road.
At the Jan. 22 meeting, council also unanimously passed three ordinances by emergency:
• An agreement with MS Consultants Inc for the Little Walnut Creek Interceptor Sewer Project. Phase 1 is going out to bid.
• A $250,000 grant with Ohio Development Services Agency for remediation at the corner of Columbus and Cherry streets.
• An agreement with SME for an abandoned gas station cleanup grant at the same address, also known as the former Martindale property.
