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Demolition of Smithfield tank now under way

WORK UNDER WAY — Workers have started the process of taking down the old Smithfield water tank. -- Mike Eroshevich

STEUBENVILLE — Demolition of the old Smithfield water tank began Tuesday, even as crews worked on the foundation for the new one.

Jefferson County Water and Sewer Department Director Michael Eroshevich said the work has been a long time coming.

“We’ve been working on (it) for four years now,” he said. “It’s been a lot of work to get it to this point.”

The county is spending nearly $1.7 million on the tank work — about $1.6 million of it to build the new tank, the other $100,000 for demolition of the old one.

Eroshevich said a sub-contractor, Iseler Demolition Inc. of Port Hope, Mich., is doing the demo, though the contract itself was awarded to McGuire Iron Inc. of Sioux Falls, S.D.

WORK UNDER WAY — Workers have started the process of taking down the old Smithfield water tank. -- Mike Eroshevich

“I think this tank was built around 1937,” Eroshevich said. “We took it out of service a few years ago, it had deteriorated to the point where it wasn’t able to stay in service — it wouldn’t hold water, we were repairing pinholes in it constantly.

“It got to the point where it wouldn’t even hold welds,” he added.

Eroshevich said the new tank will hold 200,000 gallons of water, double the size of the old one, and will serve about 630 customers in the southern part of Jefferson County.

“It covers the village of Smithfield, Piney Fork, Dillonvale Ridge and some places in between,” he said. “But it also opens us up for expansion if we should ever loop the system down toward Tiltonsville area, which is a long-term goal. Right now it ends out here at Dillon Ridge and it ends at the Tiltonsville area. It could be connected, so if we had any problems” there’d be a backup.

He said work has already begun on the foundation for the new tank.

WORK UNDER WAY — Workers have started the process of taking down the old Smithfield water tank. -- Mike Eroshevich

The county received a $750,000 Community Development Block Grant and $150,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help pay for the tank project, which officials expect will be completed by the end of 2020.

WORK UNDER WAY — Workers have started the process of taking down the old Smithfield water tank. -- Mike Eroshevich

WORK UNDER WAY — Workers have started the process of taking down the old Smithfield water tank. -- Linda Harris

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