MONTGOMERY COUNTY — More than 20 million gallons of sewage pass through Montgomery County’s waste water facilities each day.
As those facilities aged, there are growing concerns about the environment, and now the county wants to spend $65 million on upgrades.
The project is named the “Montgomery County Sewer Modernization and Revitalized Treatment Program (SMART).”
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News Center 7′s Candace Price was there as crews broke ground on a new pump station in Moraine.
After nearly three years in the making, on Wednesday county officials were finally able to break ground on the new pump station at Dryden Road.
In addition to creating new jobs, the project will also include a brand-new pre-treatment facility in West Carrolton.
“We want this to last for the next 50 years,” said Matt Hilliard, Director of Montgomery County Environmental Services. “We want to make sure we build it right.”
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The Dryden Facility was built in the 70s, and while it hasn’t malfunctioned yet, Hilliard says there was concern.
“If we do have the failure the consequence is enormous,” Hilliard said. “Things can end up in the river, we’re talking raw sewage in the river, we don’t want that. Nobody wants that.”
The upgrades will make it easier to filter out the larger items sometimes flushed.
“We’re using new technology for screening some of the large solids that are in the raw sewage,” Hilliard said.
The project will take two years to complete and is expected to be finished in 2024.
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