Waterline breaks along GC&P Road near Wheeling have damaged the pavement and caused a great deal of inconvenience for residents. (Photo Provided)

WHEELING — Ann Ream was not expecting to encounter a foot of water when she walked into her home on Memorial Day in 2021.

Now, she has grown used to the constant flooding, water outages and construction in her neighborhood due to the Ohio County Public Service District’s inability to replace an old waterline on GC&P Road.

“Getting a replacement for the line was put into work two years ago,” said Bob Luchetti, a board member with the public service district. “The waterline will be replaced as soon as we get replies from the fitters for the project.”

According to Luchetti, the company is also waiting for easements from landowners along GC&P Road to replace the old water line.

Driving down the aforementioned road, there are 15 spots where the pavement has been broken apart due to waterline breaks over the past two years.

While this damage is frustrating, residents along GC&P Road have faced much bigger consequences than a longer commute.

Breaks in water lines in Clinton Hills have caused flooding of yards and houses throughout the neighborhood starting in 2021, with some holes from the flooding only now being filled in by the public service district this June.

“The OCPSD just stopped by this June and dumped a pile of dirt to fill the holes caused by the water line break last December,” said Clinton Hills resident Tifani Fletcher.

While Fletcher’s house was not flooded, her yard has a new slope due to the flooding.

“When the line break was happening, it felt like walking on a water bed on our lawn,” said Fletcher. “We still have to avoid running over rocks when mowing our lawn now.”

Fletcher added that other residents have hired landscaping companies to fix the flooding damage rather than wait for the public service district to do the job.

Clinton Hills Resident Ann Ream faced flooding of her house and yard on Memorial Day in 2021 due to a water line break. (Photo Provided)

Ream, president of the Clinton Hills Improvement Association, said her yard was a “mess” from the flooding, which “ruined” the entire downstairs of her home.

“I was in my yard, and I saw water just gushing,” said Ream while recounting the Memorial Day flood. “I come up to my house, and it’s like a fire hydrant burst wide open.

“The water was flowing out of the hole, into the street, then down my driveway and into my house.”

The damages to her house and yard cost more than $100,000 to fix, which was paid for by the Ohio County Public Service District’s insurance company.

“Frustration” is a word being used by many homeowners as these water line breaks have caused constant water shut-offs in neighborhoods, which have increased in intensity in the past month, greatly inconveniencing residents.

Fletcher says more than 12 outages have occurred in Clinton Hills within June. Her family now keeps jugs of water on hand in case of outages. Ream also has a supply of water jugs, but she is afraid that her 84-year-old mother who lives with her may one day be harmed by a water outage or flooding.

“We have been unable to determine what’s causing the outages apart from the old age of the line,” said Luchetti on the recent increase in the frequency of outages. “But there probably is another reason.”

Rose Billie, a resident along GC&P Road, expressed frustration at the lack of communication regarding water outages between residents and the Ohio County Public Service District.

“When it happens they don’t call us or anything,” said Billie. “The water was out all day one Saturday and didn’t come back on until Sunday morning.”

Luchetti confirmed that there is no way for the public service district to notify residents beforehand when an outage will occur as they do not know when a line break will happen. However, many residents are frustrated that action could have been taken sooner by the agency to replace the line instead of fixing breaks constantly.

“I understand that the lines are old, but we pay a lot for water,” said Ream. “What we pay for should take care of the lines.”

A possible lack of action from the OCPSD in other areas in Clinton Hills is spelling out future problems for residents, as homeowners say that the company is not inspecting and replacing old or faulty fire hydrants.

“One hydrant in our neighborhood has had a black bag over it for two years,” said Ream. “If we have a fire up here, the houses will burn down because the hydrants aren’t up-to-date.”

Ream said all the service district told her was that “they don’t have the money” to replace the hydrants.

When asked whether fire hydrants in Clinton Hills need to be inspected or replaced, Luchetti responded, “That’s an ongoing procedure for us.”