“The system was not functioning as intended. As a result, our consultants were required to reevaluate the engineering and make necessary adjustments,” said MaKara Blake, marketing specialist for Greene County Sanitary Engineering.
The transition to softened water started on January 9, with hardness levels starting at 27 grains per gallon. These were decreased to 13 grains per gallon over time. On March 11, Sanitary Engineering finished bringing hardness levels down to 8 grains per gallon, where it will stay.
The change affects anyone who buys water service from the county — 18,092 homes and businesses, according to Greene County Sanitary Engineering. Customers include those in the cities of Beavercreek and small parts of Centerville and Kettering, as well as Beavercreek Twp., Xenia Twp., Wilberforce, Cedarville, Cedarville Twp., the Shawnee Hills community, and parts of Sugarcreek Twp.
Some communities, including Fairborn and Xenia, have their own water systems.
Residents now have the choice to retire their home water softeners based on their water softness preference, according to a notice posted on the county’s website.
Greene County Sanitary Engineering recommends putting your water softener in ‘bypass’ for a few weeks to see if you prefer the water at its current softness. If you choose to continue using a softener, the department recommends recalibrating your softener to eight grains per gallon.
“By calibrating your softener for the incoming hardness level of eight grains per gallon or 140 mg/L of CaCO3 you will be able to significantly reduce your salt usage. Please note that over-softening water can damage plumbing and fixtures,” Blake said.
The upgrades are part of the larger Greene Forward project. Greene Forward is comprised of two phases: water infrastructure upgrades and wastewater upgrades. The department is currently wrapping up the water infrastructure projects, and will be moving to wastewater infrastructure upgrades, with collection system upgrades, as-needed repairs to the treatment plants, solids disposal plan analysis, and treatment plant upgrades planned over the next seven years.
Wastewater upgrades have already begun with the rehabilitation of the Clifton Water Resource Reclamation Facility in the village of Clifton and the Lift Station Elimination Project in Beavercreek, Blake said.
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