Holmes County weighs $7 million plan to boost water flow east of Berlin

Holmes County commissioners discussed a roughly $7 million plan to extend Berlin water service from Bunker Hill east past Trail for about 115 customers as low water flow continued to trouble the corridor east of Berlin. The work under consideration would reach homes and properties along County Road 168, where residents have raised concerns about getting dependable public water service.

Local residents Jonathan Miller and Jason Miller met with the commissioners and Ronny Portz, principal at Engineering Associates Inc., to talk through the struggles of supplying water to the area east of Berlin that stretches beyond Trail. The discussion centered on whether the county and its water system can push service far enough to address the low-flow problem and close gaps in access for the cluster of customers now tied to the Bunker Hill area.

The plan on the table would extend Berlin water service eastward, and county officials framed it as both an infrastructure project and a service issue. For families, farms and other users along the route, the immediate concern is whether the current system can deliver enough volume to support normal use and fire protection, especially in the stretch beyond Trail and along County Road 168.

Berlin Water Company lists Seth Clark as superintendent and provides a public contact number for water-service questions, while Marty Grice is listed as clerk-treasurer. That makes the utility a key player in any fix, alongside the county commissioners, who hold open sessions and publish agendas and minutes online through the county’s government system. Holmes County’s website also includes a Sewer District and other infrastructure-related departments, underscoring that the response would run through county government rather than through a single neighborhood complaint.

For broader water-supply context, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources compiles a Monthly Water Inventory Report that tracks precipitation, streamflow, reservoir levels, groundwater and Lake Erie conditions across Ohio. USGS also provides real-time water data and a National Water Dashboard for Ohio, tools that can help county officials compare local low-flow concerns east of Berlin with wider hydrologic conditions in the state.