XENIA — The Greene County Sanitary Engineering Department has been busy the past couple months with many of its projects on the fast track in different parts of the county.

Last month, GCSED introduced advanced water softening technology to improve the quality of tap water throughout the water service area. the Greene Forward Initiative is part of a broader effort to modernize aging infrastructure and address increasing water demands.

According to Sanitary Engineering officials, the Northwest Regional Water Treatment Plant will be upgraded with high grade reverse osmosis technology designed to reduce water hardness effectively.

Another project, also part of Greene Forward’s Initiative, has been approved for a wellfield to be built on a 57-acre property on Hilltop Road.

According to Greene County Administrator Brandon Huddleson, the project was originally estimated with a cost to be $5 million, but the county’s estimated expenses changed when it received two water and wastewater infrastructure grants totaling $7.5 million. The $11 million project — expected to begin before the end of the year — will increase the county’s water supply by 3-5 million gallons of water per day.

“The engineers estimate of the total construction cost is at $11.25 million including three new production wells and the extension of the raw water main to the site,” said Mark Chandler, Director of the GCSED. “The Greene County Board of Commissioners was originally awarded a $5 million grant from the Ohio Builds Water Infrastructure Project, Round 5, in 2023. In 2024, round 6, a $2.5 million grant was additionally awarded for inflationary costs of the project totaling the overall grant funding to $7.5 million.”

Commissioners also recently approved a bid award on the Hilltop Wellfield Raw Water Main of $3,699881, to Outdoor Enterprise and a bid award of $6,468,830 to Arcon Builders, Ltd., for the wellfield.

Reach Karen Rase at 937-502-4534.