TOLEDO, Ohio — They are asking to take out up to a $48 million loan from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency as part of a third major step to update the Collins Park facility.
While that sounds like a lot, it's just a piece of improvements happening over the next few years that will add up to about half a billion dollars.
"We want to assure continued reliable operation of the water treatment plant for the next 50 years," Andy McClure, Collins Park Plant Administrator, said.
McClure is overseeing the large changes that continue to be made at Toledo's water treatment plant.
The changes are designed to update the facility and also prevent a day like in August 2014, where 400,000 people couldn't drink the water.
A big part of that is treating the water with ozone.
"It'll break microcystin down into non-toxic forms. And then the biologically activated filters will take that out of the water before it goes out into the system," McClure said.
This process is designed to keep toxins, such as the microcystin that caused the issues in 2014, from being able to make their way into the pipes.
To put it simply, the ozone would zap the water which would break apart the toxins into pieces making them not harmful. Then the water would be filtered out again through the pipes on the way to your faucet. Those filters need to be purchased to make the system work.
"It goes hand-in-hand with ozone. You don't want to put in an ozonation process without making sure your filters are biologically active," McClure said.
The new filters would be going in with some new piping. Many of the large pipes in the treatment plant haven't been replaced since they were put in 70 to 80 years ago.
These repairs are a big reason why the area is looking into a regional water agreement. While the price tag is hefty, the repairs are already anticipated.
"Should everyone come along, these improvements have already been built into the rates that are proposed," McClure said.
When it comes to the regional water agreement, Fulton County will decide if it is signing on Tuesday morning. The remaining communities have until Oct.18 to decide.
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