COAL GROVE — It took the help of a Good Samaritan, but at least one of the water problems that have besieged the Village of Coal Grove has been solved.

In early December, water service to the entire village was disrupted when a line break drained the main water tank forcing a boil water advisory.

After that was fixed, a week later the village began an extensive renovation project designed to upgrade the system.

However, that project was only days old when another line broke on Saturday; this time village crews were stymied. They couldn’t find where the leak was.

That was until Monday afternoon when someone happened to see water running out at Wade’s Work and Western Wear on Marion Pike.

“The reason we couldn’t find it they had an old camper trailer sitting on top,” Mayor Larry McDaniels said.

There was a 2-inch line that blew a part with the water running into Ice Creek. By about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday the line was repaired.

“The water tank level stands at normal,” McDaniels said.

However, the boil water advisory remains in effect because of the ongoing upgrades as shut-off values and 22 new fire hydrants are installed throughout the system by Southern Ohio Trenching.

As these are installed, it will mean periodic breaks in the service. The hydrant and valve replacement project is to last a couple of months.

Also in the next few weeks Moody of Dayton will start drilling a new well that will increase the village’s water supply.

Currently there are four wells in the village. However, one is contaminated and another one has a severe build-up of iron and manganese that discolors the water.

Once the new well is operational, it will be used as the main supplier to Coal Grove.