TOLEDO, Ohio — Soccer players at the Schneider Soccer Complex will soon have to start sharing their field with a two-million-gallon water tank.
Toledo Councilman Adam Martinez said the city has been planning to put a water tank there for a while now.
"This was always designed to be there. So this will not impede the brand new park or it should not impede operations during the construction," Martinez said.
Martinez said the tower will help with the pressurization of the water system and reduce the number of water boil advisories issued to residents.
"About eight years ago, the EPA required the city of Toledo to start installing these water towers to maintain pressure," Martinez said.
Toledo Celtics soccer coach Yousef Aliakbar said the club doesn't mind the tower being put on the field.
"Access to water has been an issue irrigating the fields this past year. It has been really, really dry," Aliakbar said. "So getting water to the field has been a little more challenging and making sure that the field surface is playable for the kids."
Aliakbar said he also thinks the addition of the water tower will help improve utilities and pave the way for another upgrade.
"One of the great things is that this water tower will give us an opportunity to relevel, regrade and make sure that that area that's staged, once they're done staging, is going to be fit for installing a turf field," said Aliakbar.
Martinez said the water tower project is already paid for.
"This money has already been allocated in the sewer and water rates, so this was already taken into account," Martinez said. "It's no cost to the taxpayer."
Martinez said the city is placing a total of three tanks in Toledo, including the soccer field, and construction is expected to start in 2026.