The Garrettsville Water Department was established in 1907, to alleviate Village safety concerns over inadequate fire protection. At the time, the Village Fire Department had only an unreliable 20-year old Village owned fire engine that utilized two river connections and five cisterns located throughout the Village.

In July 1905, the Garrettsville Council declared it necessary to issue municipal bonds, in an amount of $40,000, for sale for the purpose of constructing a water works system. The original contract included an iron removal treatment plant with two sand filters, 46 fire hydrants, 40 main line valves and approximately 6.5 miles of water lines. Construction was completed and Village Bylaws were adopted in the spring of 1907. The original Bylaws supplied an estimated yearly water cost of $15 for a home. The cost included usage for one water closet, one bath tub, one cow and a horse and carriage. The first washbasin in every house was free of charge.

The first known improvements occurred in the 1940's when a modern aerator was installed and the two original water filters were replaced. In 1958, the water facility was enlarged and two additional filters were added.

The water treatment plant obtains water from ground wells located near the facility . Twenty different wells have been utilized over the years. Today the plant uses two wells which were drilled and installed in 1968 and 1975.

In 1991, improvements were made to the facility to expand the treatment process. These improvements included the addition of chemical aeration, rebuilding the rapid sand filters with improved media and rebuilding the under-drain system. It also included the addition of a second clearwell and a new high service pump, a connection to the Village sanitary sewer system, installation of a process control panel, updating the electrical system, and the installation of a bulk water station.

In 2000, the 350,000 gallon reservoir was refurbished and altitude valves were installed to improve the water turnover throughout the distribution system. The original 150,000 gallon clearwell was improved in 2004.

Today, the Garrettsville Water Department has over 200 fire hydrants, 220 water main line valves, over 20 miles of distribution piping. This allows the Village to supply an average of 90 million gallons of water each year to over 2,500 customers.

The original wastewater treatment plant in Garrettsville was constructed in 1960. The plant consisted of screening, primary settling, a trickling filter, a secondary settling tank, chlorination and an anaerobic digester.

In 1985, the plant was improved to include aeration/clarification (Aero-Mod tanks) facilities. The primary settling tank and trickling filter basin were converted to flow equalization basins, and the secondary settling tank was converted into a chlorine contact tank; a solids grinder was also installed in lieu of screening; the anaerobic digester was converted to aerobic digestion.

Improvements made in 1990 consisted of screening/solids grinding, flow splitting, extended aeration (Mack tanks), final settling and sludge holding tanks, an equalization basin and a new blower and generator building.

In 1994, improvements in disinfection were made through the construction of an ultraviolet disinfection channel. The chlorination tank was also repurposed to become a plant effluent pumping station during wet weather.

Collection System

Wastewater is collected for treatment within the Village of Garrettsville by conventional gravity sewers and by four wastewater-pumping stations.

One 12-inch and one 15-inch diameter sanitary sewer interceptors transport wastewater to the Garrettsville wastewater facility. The Village of Garrettsville has actively rehabilitated needed areas within the collection system to reduce unwanted rain inflow and infiltration, and to maintain operational integrity of the collection and treatment facilities.