TOLEDO, Ohio — The city of Toledo is one step closer to a major project geared toward avoiding a repeat of the 2014 water crisis.
NAI Harmon, a northwest Ohio commercial real estate team, announced the closure of a deal in a Toledo suburb Wednesday. The $3.78 million deal, which closed April 29, involves a 135-acre plot of land in Oregon, which will be the site of the City of Toledo Water Back-up Reservoir.
The secondary water source, which will serve as a backup to the main intake on the lake, is something many officials like Lucas County Board of Commissioners President Pete Gerken have been begging for since the water crisis.
Over the years, Sylvania Mayor Craig Stough, a member of the Regional Water Commission, has said that if a redundant intake had existed back then, the water crisis likely would never have happened.
Stough and Gerken told WTOL 11 in March that the funding is thanks to Toledo's water-rate increase. About $100 million will go toward the construction of the reservoir.
NAI Harmon Group's Joshua Payzant said that the reservoir may not be built for another five years or more. The site is currently farmland, and Payzant said the city of Toledo will allow the previous owner to continue farming until construction begins.
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