Nov. 8--AMANDA TOWNSHIP -- It could be spring before the public sees anything resembling a reservoir, but work at the massive site has begun in earnest.

Crews are installing drainage tile at the reservoir at Agerter and Grubb roads, and also installing a pump station at Agerter Road and the Auglaize River, Assistant Utilities Director Mike Caprella said.

The city broke ground on its new 5.1 billion gallon reservoir in late September and construction will take another 20 months or so. Milder weather will mean more gets done this winter, Caprella said. Either way, passers-by won't see walls forming at the 425-acre site until the spring.

At the river, crews have installed rock anchors and will pour concrete this week for the pumping station that will move water from the water to the reservoir.

The size of the project and a poor economy drew competitive bidding and the city is getting construction at a steal -- $23 million -- compared with early estimates of $36 million.

The city began preliminary engineering on the project at Agerter and Grubb roads in 2001, but planned for the reservoir west of Bresler Reservoir for decades.

A new design leaves Grubb Road open after Allen County commissioners earlier this year voted against the city's request to close it to increase the reservoir's capacity.

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