Why is this village-owned house vacant?

This beautiful old farmhouse at 1140 SR 343 in Miami Township, built in 1900 and seemingly in good condition, now lays vacant. The buildings in the background, the Yellow Springs Village Garage complex, are the key to why the house cannot be occupied. According to a reliable source who asked that his name be withheld, salt from the village's salt storage shed has seeped into the ground water and polluted the well to the extent that salty water would run from the faucets if they were used. No telling what other chemicals are in the water, as some winters the road salt is augmented with chemicals. And no telling how far the contamination has spread, as a branch of Yellow Springs Creek courses nearby to the west.

According to my source, he tried to rent the house from the Village of Yellow Springs, which owns the house and several acres of land behind it where the Village Garage sits, while the last Village Manager was still on board. After village officials did some research, they told him the house was unliveable due to the aforementioned salt problem. They indicated that there is a report on this somewhere in the village records, he said.

According to the County Auditor's records, the 3360 sq. ft., two-story house has 10 rooms, four bedrooms and one full bath. It's appriased value is $124,540. The taxing districts are Miami Township and the Yellow Springs Exempt Village School District.