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DELAWARE — The city has owned 120 acres of land off of Horseshoe Road since 1988, yet the land sits untouched. Why?
Delaware purchased the land to be a potential site for a future upland reservoir. At the time of purchase, the city had ample water sources to draw from.
It still does today, but that could change as Delaware continues to grow. From 2020-2025, the city’s population grew by 14.3%, according to Delaware County Regional Planning estimates.
“The idea was that we could potentially use it to store water,” City Public Utilities Director Emily Meek said.
If the city builds a reservoir there, it would expand the water treatment plant’s operation, which is located on the other side of the Olentangy River at 3080 U.S. 23 North.
The plant treats and distributes roughly 3.65 million gallons of water each day, but it has the capacity to treat 7 million. It draws from the Olentangy River and several wells on the property.
There is not an immediate need for a reservoir, Meek said — but eventually, as the population grows, water use will grow as well.
“We’re obviously surrounded by water, but there’s a lot of people using those sources,” she said.
A reservoir would diversify the water source profile, and not put excess strain on the river or wells.
The utilities department is working with consultants from Burgess and Niple to look at potential source water expansion.
Their research will inform whether a reservoir is the most cost effective route; well optimization or use of new wells are also options.
Meek said the consultants are still in the preliminary stages, so there are no results or timelines of completion to report yet.
Once the consultants wrap up their work, Meek will bring their findings and recommendations to city council and council will decide how to move forward.
