GENEVA-ON-THE-LAKE —
The village wastewater treatment plant will get a $480,000 upgrade through an Ohio Public Works Commission grant, administrator Jim Hockaday said, which will include an ultraviolet disinfection system that will reduce or eliminate the need for chemicals at the plant.
Hockaday said the OPWC granted the village a $138,000 grand and a $150,000 loan for the project, but village officials are looking for even more grant funding to reduce the cost to taxpayers.
“The village has secured gap financing from the Ohio Water Development Authority (OWDA) for the remaining $192,000. But in order to keep debt levels low for village sewer utility consumers, the mayor and members of village council are seeking an Appalachian Regional Commission grant for an additional $192,000 with no local match,” Hockaday said.
“This would eliminate the need for the OWDA loan financing,” he said.
Hockaday said the wastewater treatment plant updates will save the village $58,000 annually in water use and the purchase of chemicals.
The wastewater treatment upgrade includes the ultraviolet disinfection system, which will eliminate the use of chemicals in the treatment plant, Hockaday said.
“The village will save nearly $50,000 annually on chemicals, improve disinfection quality, and improve the environmental friendliness of the effluent disinfection process,” he said.
The new non-potable water system will eliminate the use of tap water to clean the equipment at the plant. Hockaday said this system will allow the village to recycle clean wastewater which will reduce water consumption at the plant by $8,000 per year.
For years the village wastewater treatment plant has used drying beds to remove bio-solids from wastewater, a system that is inefficient because it is unusable for six months each year.
“The drying beds can only be utilized six months per year,” Hockaday said. “A sludge press will allow for year-round removal of bio-solids which will improve the efficiency of our plant and will lower the cost of removing bio-solids.”
The treatment plant overhaul will also include a new barn to house the sludge press and store village equipment, which is now stored outdoors.
“Long-term this will lower vehicle maintenance and repair costs and provide a safer working environment for our public works employees,” Hockaday said.
The project will move forward with or without ARC funding, Hockaday said, though the village administration is hopeful for the additional grant.
“We could do this project without the grants, but we are really hoping to offset the debt,” Hockaday said. “If the ARC comes through with the additional $192,000, we will begin the project in February. If not, we will proceed with the project this fall.”
Taxpayer savings is a motivating factor for the project, Hockaday said.
“This project creates new efficiencies, saving taxpayer and sewer utility customer dollars. It improves the environmental friendliness of our wastewater treatment process by recycling water, removing chemicals from our process, and improving the overall quality of product, which is discharged directly to Lake Erie,” he said.
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