In most American cities, clean, healthy drinking water is available in seemingly unlimited quantities from the faucet.

Clean, reliable water is so common in central Ohio that one easily could forget the impressive scale of public infrastructure that goes into its production and delivery. The city of Worthington is responsible for roughly 73 miles of buried water mains that meet the community’s needs for drinking water, firefighting, manufacturing, recreation and commercial use. These services rely on the daily operation of a pipe network installed piece by piece over the past century.

Over the past few years, some areas of Worthington have begun experiencing more frequent water main breaks. This trend of increasing break frequency can be associated with pipes that have reached or surpassed their expected lifespan. Water line breaks are an unpredictable problem that in a best-case scenario create a nuisance and cause a few homes to experience low water pressure. A major break can impact the water supply to hundreds, damage property and affect home life, business

 operations and even school schedules. Worthington is striving to correct this trend through strategic investment in our city’s infrastructure.

To effectively guide our infrastructure management approach, Worthington worked with engineering consultant Strand Associates in 2020 to evaluate the condition of our public water system. Such factors as pipe age, pipe size, breakage history and consequences of failure were considered for each water main. As a result of the study, five projects were identified to prioritize replacement of the most critical water mains. These five projects are included in the 2022-26 CIP that was adopted by City Council on Dec. 6, 2021.

The first project to break ground will replace water mains along Colonial Avenue and Foster Avenue in the Colonial Hills neighborhood. This project will replace a main that has a history of disruptive breaks to both the neighborhood and nearby Colonial Hills Elementary School. Existing cast-iron pipes will be replaced with new 8-inch ductile pipes, providing a more durable water main for future generations.

These new water mains will be installed in the public right of way, and residents can expect to see excavation in the road. Some disruptions to traffic will occur at the work site, such as temporary street-parking restrictions and one-lane closures. There will be planned interruptions to water service during the work as contractors transfer service connections to the new pipes. Most interruptions will be short-duration, one-time events. Additional information will be provided to residents in the project area as construction nears.

Plans also are being drawn up for a second project that will continue improvements with new water mains along Park Overlook Drive between Indianola Avenue and Andover Street. Construction of the first project is anticipated to break ground in late 2022. The second project’s construction phase tentatively is planned for late 2023.

We appreciate the patience and understanding of residents who might be affected during construction. If you have any questions about the projects, please call the Worthington Service & Engineering Department at 614-431-2425.

John Moorehead is the city of Worthington’s director of service and engineering.