COAL GROVE — Officials say improvements to Coal Grove’s water transmission line are ahead of schedule and will increase the reliability of the system that has been plagued by frequent breaks and leaks.

The project, which is Phase II of the village’s water improvement plan, was begun in mid-May. It includes replacing 6,000 feet of the existing 8-inch transmission line from the water plant on Riverside Drive to the 500,000-gallon storage tank on the hill near Lane Street. It will also replace the filter media in the iron and manganese removal filters, replacing a backwash pump and motor, replacing various valves in the plant and adding HVAC ventilation and exhaust fan work.

Phase I of Coal Grove’s water improvement project took place last year and replaced multiple, non-working, 1940s-era fire hydrants, added main-line valves to the water lines and added a new, 700-gallon-per-minute well at the water treatment plant.

Mayor Larry McDaniel said the crew, Distel Construction of Portsmouth, is currently working on the last segment of line going up the hill to the water tank.

“That is the last section they have to install,” McDaniel said. “Then they’ll have to come back and pressure test it all and tie it together with the fittings.”

“They did get a late start because we had such a wet early summer,” said Engineer Paul Amburgey, of E.L. Robinson. “But they’ve made good progress in the five weeks or so they’ve been at it. As it stands now the completion date would be Sept. 28.”

Once the work on the waterline is complete, the crew will move to the water plant, Amburgey said.

“They’ve got four filters at the water plant and they’ll take one down at a time so that there will be no disruption with water service,” he said.

Disruption of service has been an issue with the current work on the waterline. The last break in the main line happened on Tuesday and the village is still under a boil water advisory. Amburgey said line breaks are typical with projects like this.

“Even though the village has been very diligent in locating the old line…this line has got about 120 pounds of psi pressure on it,” Amburgey said. “You get anywhere within three or four feet of it, sometimes the old line will just blow out because you’re close to it.”

Another part of the current project is replacing one of the village’s three waterline pressure regulators. The other two haven’t been operational in years, McDaniel said.

Phase II of the water improvement project is being paid for by a grant awarded to the village from the EPA. The EPA awarded the village $490,000, with 40 percent being a grant, and the other 60 percent a 30-year, low interest loan.

To pay the loan off, council passed an ordinance for a $5 municipal user fee that was added to the utility bill of each residential household, including rental units, and each non-residential customer of the Village of Coal Grove.

“Once we get this new line in, it’s going to be a great improvement,” McDaniel said. “I don’t know if that old line is getting weak or what but it seemed like we were forever having leaks on it. Once we get that installed…we should be in real good shape.”