BY KATHY MELLOTT
EBENSBURG — After years of being unable to drink or even do dishes with the water from their faucets, a small group of Blacklick Township residents soon will see a dramatic change, officials said Thursday.
A Glen Hope contractor is the apparent low bidder – at $133,500 – to install water lines connecting the five residences of Bethel Road to the municipal water lines owned by the Blacklick Valley Municipal Authority.
A sixth home, now under construction, also will benefit from the water line extension, said Larry Custer, executive director of the Cambria County Redevelopment Authority.
The addition of municipal water will be an improvement greater than most can imagine, said Rich Wray of Cresson, Blacklick Township engineer.
“The water is contaminated with petroleum and bacteria. The supervisors saw the need and they felt obligated to assist the residents,” Wray said following opening of the bids by 18 contractors hoping to lay the pipes.
About a mile of water line will be built and will open up an area that has the potential for residential growth, Custer said.
The contaminated water problem has been around for years and has gotten so bad that the residents are forced to get their water from a nearby creek, Supervisor Joe Sherwood said recently.
The hope was that the system would be in place last year. But delays in getting the contract for the work from the state held up an environmental review and pushed the work into this year, officials said.
Construction should begin in early May and will take about two months to complete, Custer said.
The line will end at the intersection of Bethel and Reed Hall roads.
Money for the project is through the Cambria County Community Development Block Grant program – 2007 funds, Custer said.
Last spring, the county commissioners designated the project as a top priority for the CDBG money.
