Oregon, Elmore get state funds for infrastructure improvements

        Communities in Northwest Ohio are receiving approximately $17.5 million in low-interest rate funding from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to improve wastewater and drinking water infrastructure and to make other water quality improvements. The loans were approved between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020. The lower interest rates and principal forgiveness will save these communities more than $6.76 million.
        Statewide, Ohio EPA awarded approximately $303.8 million in loans during the fourth quarter of 2020, including $19.2 million in principal forgiveness. Combined, Ohio communities will save more than $61.2 million when compared to market-rate loans. The projects are improving Ohio’s surface water quality and the reliability and quality of Ohio drinking water systems.
        Ohio EPA provided approximately $887 million for public works projects in 2020, saving communities more than $150 million in interest when compared to market-rate loans. This includes $10.8 million in principal forgiveness loans to 75 local health districts to help lower income homeowners repair or replace failing home sewage systems.
       
Sewer rehab
        Among the communities in The Press circulation area to receive funding are Oregon and Elmore.
         Oregon is receiving $1.25 million to construct the first phase of a sanitary sewer rehabilitation project. The project involves lining the mainline sanitary sewers, laterals, and manholes in the South Shore Park subdivision, which is directly adjacent to Maumee Bay and Lake Erie. It is subject to excessive inflow and infiltration from rainfall and Lake Erie wave events.
        The project is located along the lake just north of Bay Shore Road and east of Stadium Road, according to Public Service Director Paul Roman.
        “We’re lining sanitary sewers. By doing so, we’re making them tighter so that drainage and other infiltration doesn’t get into the sewer system,” said Roman.
        “We’ve done several sewer rehabilitation projects in the city. It’s an investment. We’re removing I & I (inflow and infiltration) from the sanitary sewer system,” he said.
        “In that area, sometimes we don’t get rain. We get just a northeast wind from the lake and you get wave run-up and it floods the area,” said Roman. “Then that feeds through the ground and infiltrates those sanitary sewers. That’s why we’re lining it.”
        In addition, the sewers are old.
        “Just for structural integrity, we want to line them and give them a lot more life. They get 50 years more life by lining them,” he said.
        Roman called the sewer rehabilitation project in the city an ongoing process.
        “We’ve been doing this for almost nine years. We’ve done most of our older sewers. A lot of the original sewers were installed in the 1930s. So this is the last of that era in South Shore Park. We’ve already completed Moundview Park and Euclid Park - some of the older subdivisions. The next oldest sewers are from the 60s and 70s. Not much happened during World War 2,” he said.
        “Eventually, we’ll go south of Bay Shore Road. Our goal is to line the rest of South Shore Park. What we’re doing this year is just one third of that area. We’ll apply for grant dollars for future projects. It just depends on how much money is available,” he said.
        The project also is being funded by a $450,000 grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) and a $450,000 zero percent loan from the OPWC, he said.
       
Elmore
        Elmore is receiving two loans. One is for $26,858 to create an asset management plan for the village. The other is an $8,868 loan to maintain the village’s elevated water storage tank. The project includes power washing, repairing the interior ladder and pit welding, and adding supports for future cathodic protection.
        The Northwestern Water and Sewer District is receiving two loans for drinking water projects. An $881,126 loan is for replacing approximately 4,800 feet of waterline. A $699,659 loan will fund replacing 6-inch waterlines with 10-inch waterlines in the village of McComb to provide adequate feed to a large industrial customer.
        Bowling Green is receiving a $5.4 million loan for aeration and biosolids treatment improvements at the wastewater treatment plant. The project includes constructing a new biosolids aeration building.
        Sandusky County is receiving $2.33 million to build a sewage collection system and treatment facility to serve 75 homes with failing septic systems in the Wightman’s Grove subdivision.
       
Loan fund
        Created in 1989, the Water Pollution Control Loan Fund (WPCLF) helps communities improve their wastewater treatment systems. The Water Supply Revolving Loan Account (WSRLA), started in 1998, provides loans for improvements to community drinking water systems and nonprofit, non-community public water systems. Both programs offer below-market interest rate loans, which can save communities a substantial amount of money compared to market-rate loans.  
        Ohio EPA’s state revolving fund (SRF) loans are provided to communities to build and upgrade wastewater and drinking water infrastructure, upgrade home sewage treatment systems, better manage storm water, address combined sewer overflows, and implement other water quality-related projects.