BY The Cincinnati Enquirer
ROSS TOWNSHIP -- Jean Wagonfield and her neighbors in the small Butler County community of Venice Gardens know first-hand what problems contaminated water can cause.
They have seen it make adults and children sick with diarrhea and fever.
They have seen it ruin water heaters and washers, corrode water faucets and shower heads and create a stench in kitchens and bathrooms. Led by Ms. Wagonfield, a group of feisty Venice Gardens residents battled for years to replace their contaminated water wells.
Their persistence paid off. Workers broke ground Oct. 1 on a $1.7 million water-line installation project that will bring treated Cincinnati water to their community next year.
"I'm elated," Ms. Wagonfield said. "It just burned me up that in this country and in this day and age, we had kids drinking sewage."
The Cincinnati Water Works provided $500,000 in matching funds and a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant and will manage the construction. Butler County obtained a $650,000 state grant for the project. The water works will recover its matching money through rates charged to Venice Gardens residents.
Until Cincinnati became involved in the past year, efforts to bring water lines into Venice Gardens had failed.
Momentum for the project began to build two years ago when studies paid for by the neighborhood revealed a high level of contaminants in many water wells.
At the request of Cincinnati Mayor Roxanne Qualls and the Ohio Health Department, water works Director Dave Rager began working on a solution to Venice Gardens' problem.
With a main line running near Venice Gardens and grant money available, the Water Works decided it could undertake the project. "Hallelujah!," said resident Pat Hopkins on the prospect of water lines finally coming into Venice Gardens. "Cincinnati Water Works has just been great to us. I'm just so tickled I can't wait."
Venice Gardens is a close-knit Ross Township community of 300 homes in southwestern Butler County where many residents struggle financially.
The community, located near the Great Miami River, had been a camp grounds until the 1950s. In the early '50s, the old Mount Healthy Drive-In awarded 20-foot-by-100-foot lots in Venice Gardens as door prizes for its customers.
As houses were built and the community grew, the septic tanks began contaminating the water wells. Residents trace this problem to the early 1980s, when intestinal illnesses rose and lime deposits started damaging water heaters and washers.
Because she managed medical offices, Ms. Wagonfield received calls in the middle of the night from worried parents whose children had fevers and diarrhea.
Almost all residents started buying bottled water or hauling water from the homes of relatives and friends.
"We used to fill a five-gallon jug at our daughter's house in Hamilton," said Mary Bliton, 78. "When we couldn't lift it any more, we used four smaller jugs."
Some have holding tanks that add salt to soften water. Karen Rachford, 35, has one in her living room closet.
"The water rusted out my 7-year-old water heater," she said. Bill and Tona Simpkins said they don't like taking showers with the well water.
"You come out of the shower and don't know if you've taken a shower or not," Mr. Simpkins said.
"The water smells so bad, it's embarrassing to have company at the house," Mrs. Simpkins said.
Public officials and residents praised Ms. Wagonfield."If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't be getting water," Mrs. Hopkins said.
Ms. Wagonfield, known for her compassion, also has an ironclad determination.
"I hate defeat," she said. "I don't entertain defeat."
