WARREN — The third and final round of Ohio BUILDS water infrastructure grant awards will provide $3 million to improve water pressure in Mineral Ridge.

The state program, created under Ohio House Bill 168 with federal pandemic-relief dollars, offered $250 million in water and sewer infrastructure grants to Ohio communities.

The latest round issued $109 million of the total, bringing the total number of projects awarded to 183, according to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who came Thursday to Weathersfield to speak about the $3 million offering for the $4 million improvement project.

To improve water pressure in the Mineral Ridge area, an elevated water storage tank and a booster pump station will be constructed, according to county application documents. There are 1,089 residential and commercial connections in the water-district area.

“The system is located on the side of a ridge with significant elevation changes. During high demand, water pressures at the higher elevations dip below 35 pounds per square inch, and pressure and volume during fire flow is also inadequate at the higher elevations. This project is necessary to protect the health and safety of the residents by not allowing the pressures to drop, which increases the possibility of contaminants infiltrating the public water supply. This project also will increase fire flow during firefighting activities. This project will benefit 2,614 people,” a description of the project award states.

Loans were going to be the primary funding for the project.

County sanitary engineer Gary Newbrough requested about $2 million for the project, according to county documents.

Newbrough made nearly $9 million in requests from the program.

Trumbull County Engineer Randy Smith requested about $8 million from the program, but none of the projects were funded.

Each county in Ohio received something, though the amounts requested were several times the amount afforded for the program, DeWine said.

Since applications for the program opened in late July, the Ohio Department of Development received more than 1,200 grant applications requesting nearly $1.4 billion in funding.

“As evidenced in the number of applications submitted, the need for these projects is great,” Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Department of Development, said.

DeWine said the state, much like other areas of the country, faces aging water infrastructure concerns.

“We have unmet infrastructure needs,” he said.

But, the state is fortunate to have access to an abundance of water, he said.

“Our job, really, is to take care of the water we’ve got,” DeWine said.

That is why the state decided to create water-focused programs, DeWine said, noting projects were chosen based on need and the ability of the community to fund the project for itself. Communities with less fiscal ability to pay for the improvements were more likely to receive funding, considered alongside the level of importance of the improvement, DeWine said.

Trumbull County Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa said the project was known to be necessary for years, but was cost-prohibitive because rate payers would have had to absorb the costs.

Commissioner Niki Frenchko thanked Newbrough for working on the project. Commissioner Frank Fuda said the county was swimming in need for the completion of water and sewer projects, but Newbrough and other officials like planning commission Director Julie Green have been able to accomplish many of the projects by successfully applying for grant dollars.

Weathersfield trustees Steve Gerberry and Marvin McBride recognized the late fire Chief Randall Pugh, who helped raise the alarm about the low water pressure.

McBride said Pugh warned that if residents knew how low the pressure was, they would move out of the township.

The issue was presented to commissioners eight years ago, officials said.

Also in the third round of funding, Sebring is receiving a $330,000 grant to replace the ultraviolet disinfection equipment at the village’s wastewater treatment plant. This project will benefit 4,420 people. And, the Buckeye Water District in Columbiana County will receive a $250,000 grant to cover the planning and engineering design for a project that will construct a secondary water transmission main located in Madison Township to benefit 2,200 people.

Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties received no funding in the second round of Ohio BUILDS projects, but in the first round, the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District received a $500,000 grant to make improvements to its dam. And, New Waterford received a $2.5 million grant to replace sanitary sewer mains and manholes.