ELYRIA — City Council members want to let a little monetary relief flow in the direction of an Elyria couple who has dealt with cloudy, undrinkable water for more than a year.
Monday night, members of the Finance Committee voted to give Carol Kiesel of Elywood Drive $500. The decision will go up for a full Council vote in one week.
Kiesel sought reimbursement for some of the money she spent to install a $5,200 water treatment system at her home. She said it was needed to remove sediment and turbidity from her drinking water.
“I’m glad we did it because we can now enjoy water that tastes good, our dishes come out of the dishwasher clean and we don’t have to clean the sediment out of our toilets every two days,” Kiesel said.
Kiesel explained to Council that before she installed the system, she sought help from the city. Her water was tested numerous times, but the cloudiness never went away, she said.
Councilman Jack Baird, R-at large, suggested the one-time $500 payment. Kiesel late last year personally called him for help.
Baird said he visited the couple’s home and “if you had been there and seen that water, you wouldn’t drink it either. It’s murky and cloudy,” he said.
Unlike the city’s legal claim process, Council reviewed this case as a moral claim. That’s why Law Director Scott Serizan said the claim was allowable.
There is a $500 limit on what residents can receive.
“We don’t have a position one way or another on the moral claim,” Serizan said. “Council is well within its right to say the city did nothing wrong, but grant the moral claim and deflect some of the cost.”
Safety Service Director Mary Siwierka said Kiesel first made a compliant in December 2013.
Since then, more than a dozen city employees have been to the Kiesels’ home and tested the water. The hydrant near the home has been flushed multiple times and on Feb. 19 there was specific testing at nine homes around Elywood Drive studying pH balance, turbidity and chlorine levels.
“Consistently, there has not been one problem or issue,” Siwierka said. “We have had lab technicians go to her home, run a glass of water right from her tap and drink it.”
When asked if she would drink the water in Kiesel’s home, Siwierka said, “Absolutely.”
Dave Rothgery, senior manager of water distribution, said after repeated tests showed no documentable problem, an automatic flusher was put on a nearby fire hydrant to help move sediment through the lines. The water lines are between 50 and 60 years old.
“We have done our due diligence to produce clean and good quality water,” he said. “As far as anything in the system, we haven’t found anything wrong.”
Councilman Larry Tanner, D-1st Ward, was the only committee member to vote against the claim. He said the city could open itself up for more claims or even a return of Kiesel in a few months if the system she thought worked stopped offering relief.
George Crossan, a Gulf Road resident, also is not happy with the money being spent. The $500 will come from the city’s water fund.
“I have a filtration system on my house, too,” he said. “If you are going to pay every resident $500 if they can show you a dirty filter, I’m bringing mine in tomorrow.”
Council President Mike Lotko, D-at large, said the situation’s uniqueness required some kind of relief from the city.
“Water may be clean, but if it doesn’t look clean I can understand their concern,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to drink it. I agree we have done everything we can from a city standpoint.”

http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2...-cloudy-water/


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