YOUNGSTOWN - Mahoning County commissioners on Thursday approved the sale of up to 500,000 gallons of water a day for a company that is drilling a gas well in North Jackson.
The agreement calls for Consol Energy to pay $6 per 1,000 gallons it uses at its well site off Blott Road; it can use up to 500,000 gallons per day.
Sanitary Engineer Bill Coleman said that if the maximum per month of 15 million gallons is used by the company, that will add up to $90,000 per month.
Coleman said the county gets its water from Youngstown city and the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District.
The numbers being used sound like a lot, but Coleman said the county gets 2 million gallons of water a day from its suppliers and that the normal daily average usage by customers using the county's system is 325,000 gallons a day.
Coleman said Consol wants to start work on the project immediately once the purchase is approved. He said they will have to extend a line from a hydrant on Bailey Road to be used for the Blott Road well site.
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In other business Thursday, commissioners also approved bump in pay for county Building Inspector Jeff Uroseva because he is now overseeing inspections in the county and the City of Youngstown.
Uroseva's annual pay was raised from $61,701 to $72,563.
The two departments combined last month. Uroseva oversees six inspectors and several contracted inspectors, such as electrical inspectors.
Uroseva said that he will be adding at least two more positions this year because of the need for inspectors due to ongoing construction at V&M Star, the racino in Austintown and several drilling projects.
The wells began operation in North Jackson in October.
Coleman said the additional income was not expected when his department charted its 2013 budget and it could help during an upcoming rate study. The county's water system has 1,500 customers and a rate study is being done to see how any improvements can be made, he said.
Lynn Seay, spokeswoman for Consol, said the water from the county is just one of the company's water sources for a fracturing well that will begin operating on the site in March.
She said purchasing the water from the county fits in with Consol's policy of using local suppliers whenever possible.