Aqua project about 60 percent complete

By JESSICA HARDIN

jhardin@vindy.com

POLAND

The $12 million in upgrades to the Aqua Ohio water plant on Route 170 will improve the quality of customers’ drinking water, officials said Thursday.

The plant serves more than 60,000 Mahoning Valley residents in Struthers, Poland, Lowellville, New Middletown, and the townships of Beaver, Boardman, Canfield, Coitsville, Poland and Springfield.

Upgraded technology will also enable Aqua Ohio to respond to new requirements from the Environmental Protection Agency.

“We’re trying to stay ahead and anticipate what’s coming down the pike. We have infrastructure in place that reacts to the unexpected,” said area manager Jennifer Johnson.

The plant update exemplifies Aqua Ohio’s capital improvement strategy: Rather than waiting for infrastructure to fail, Aqua Ohio replaces components over time.

“It helps us spread costs out, so there’s no rate shock,” Johnson said.

Aqua Ohio is in the third year of a five-year rate plan. Rates increased by 3.75 percent in 2019 and will increase by the same percentage in 2020 and 2021. Production manager George Ginnis expects improvement in the report card from the EPA, which provides a breakdown of the contents of the water.

Currently, the plant uses sedimentation basins to remove impurities from water. These basins are being upgraded to solid contact units, which essentially provide an additional filter, Ginnis explained.

Aqua communications consultant Jeff LaRue said that the project is about 60 percent complete. The plant will go online before the end of the year.