The wellfield is part of a multi-year series of projects, titled Greene Forward, to reinstitute 20 years of serviceable life to all Greene County’s water facilities and ensure service capacity for the same timeframe.
The Greene County Commission was awarded $5 million from the state of Ohio in July for the wellfield, through the Ohio BUILDS water infrastructure program. Pre-COVID, the project cost for the wellfield was estimated at $5 million. Current estimates have more than doubled at $10.7 million, which includes the cost of the water main to the site, said interim Greene County Sanitary Engineering Director Mark Chandler.
“Total source capacity is estimated at 4.3 million gallons per day, which is equivalent to 21,600 customers,” Chandler said, adding that the additional capacity will meet future demand in the county and will benefit new and existing customers alike.
Construction of the wellfield is planned for 2024, with completion in early 2025.
Other water improvement projects are in progress. Greene County began construction on a $46 million expansion to its Northwest Regional Water Treatment Plant on Beaver Valley Road last year, which will provide customers with softer water. The Sanitary Engineering department plans to test the first production of softened water next spring, and softened water is expected to go out to customers in the late spring or early summer of 2024.
The Hilltop wellfield will support overall capacity demand, including satellite water systems where water is currently purchased from the city of Dayton and Montgomery County, Chandler said. The county purchases water from Dayton and Montgomery County for the western portion of its customer base, but improving the county’s water systems will eventually allow the county to serve all customers on its own system, saving approximately $500,000 annually.
The county’s North and Valley Springs wellfield refurbishment project is also ongoing. The project is expected to increase the facilities’ capacity from 10.6 million gallons per day to 15 million gallons per day.
More information on all Greene County’s water and sewer upgrades can be found at greeneforward.com.
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