Oxford to construct new $24.8M water treatment facility
The new facility will reduce Oxford’s water hardness, fight PFAS
The Oxford City Council voted to adopt a resolution for the city manager to enter into a contract with Building Crafts Inc. for the construction of a new water treatment facility at the current Oxford Water Treatment Plant (WTP) during a regular meeting on June 2.
The Oxford WTP was constructed in the early 1990s and currently serves around 22,500 people, but the facility wasn’t designed or equipped to soften water, according to the city staff report.
A new maintenance facility will be constructed to the south of the water treatment plant. Following its completion, the old building will be demolished to create room for the new treatment plant, according to the city staff report.
Fighting forever chemicals
The addition of membrane softening technology at the new facility at the Oxford WTP will increase water softening capabilities and reduce per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as “forever chemicals,” which take hundreds to thousands of years to break down in the environment.
Mike Dreisbach, service director for the City of Oxford, said the city looked into various technologies, but decided in 2023 on implementing membrane softening technology due to its ability to counter PFAS.
“The membrane system works well,” Dreisbach said. “It’s efficient and the added benefit (is that) it removes emerging contaminants, like PFAS … and that’s really one of the best benefits for us.”
Detection of PFAS in the city’s raw water has been minimal, sitting under 8.7 nanograms per liter (ng/L), or roughly one drop in 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to the city staff report.
Due to increased water required for backwashing, which is a part of the membrane softening process, an additional vertical turbine well will be built at the Seven Mile well field that will increase the Oxford WTP’s water intake by one million gallons per day for raw water availability, according to the city staff report.
Todd Kehr, manager at the Oxford WTP, said membrane softening is both affordable and efficient for the city’s economic goals.
Compared to other options, such as lime softening, membrane softening leaves a much smaller footprint on the environment, Kehr said.
Membrane softening acts as a “strainer at a molecular level,” according to the presentation given during a city council work session on May 19. About 60% of water at the Oxford WTP will be treated with this technology.
Implementing this new technology will add more chemicals to the water, including sodium bisulfite, antiscalant, sodium hydroxide and orthophosphate, according to the presentation at the work session.
Softer water for Oxford
In addition to fighting PFAS, the new plant will reduce Oxford’s water hardness.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, “soft” water is categorized in the range of 0 to 60 parts per million (ppm); “moderately hard” water is in the range of 61 to 120 ppm; “hard” water is in the range of 121 to 180 ppm and “very hard” water is 180 ppm or higher.
While Butler County’s average water hardness is between 120 and 150 ppm, according to the city staff report, Oxford’s water hardness level sits around 340 to 380 ppm, largely due to the high amounts of calcium and magnesium in the city’s raw water.
Oxford pumps its water from two separate well fields – the Seven Mile well field and the Four Mile well field, according to Dreisbach.
Both of these well fields pull from the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer, a major source of water for several cities in Butler County, which has a high amount of limestone that comes in contact with water. Water in contact with limestone picks up calcium, which contributes to harder water across the county.
The City of Oxford’s goal is to lower water hardness from its current 340 to 380 ppm range to between 120 ppm, according to Dreisbach.
“(120 ppm) is comparable with all of the surrounding water systems in Butler County,” Dreisbach said.
Better work space
Dreisbach said that the new facility will not only help soften Oxford’s water and counter PFAS, but be a better work facility for the city’s water treatment and water distribution divisions.
“These are the guys that repair water mains and take care of our fire hydrants,” Dreisbach said. “They’re (currently) working out of a building that was not designed for them. It was designed as a storage building for the treatment plant.”
The new building would be catered to these workers’ needs and increase response time to water emergencies around Oxford, according to Dreisbach.
$24.8 million budget
The cost of construction is $23,632,340 with a contingency of $1,167,660.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) has awarded $2.4 million to the City of Oxford to pay for all design and engineering costs associated with the project.
Additionally, the city plans to finance the construction through Ohio’s Water Supply Revolving Loan Account (WSRLA). The city aims to receive $4 million in loan forgiveness to help eliminate PFAS, according to the city staff report.
The city expects to receive below-market-rate financing for the duration of the debt, potentially at 0% for the first $10 million, for up to 30 years, according to the city staff report.
Dreisbach said he is working to minimize how much money the city is borrowing to complete the project.
“We are going to attempt to borrow as little as possible,” Dreisbach said. “These are big numbers and there will be rate increases and I know everyone is going to be concerned about that.”
Dreisbach said that the city is currently working to complete its application to Ohio’s WSRLA. Pending approval, Dreisbach said he hopes to break ground on the new facility in autumn.
The Oxford City Council will meet again at 7:30 p.m. on June 16 at the Oxford Courthouse, 118 W. High St.
