By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green utility customers won’t see any rate hikes in their monthly electric, water or sewer bills in 2024.
But they should see the positive effects of improvements to the city’s water, wastewater and electric services, according to Bowling Green Infrastructure and Utilities Director Brian O’Connell.
“A lot of the work is behind the scenes, underground and at plants,” he said. “But it does impact people’s daily lives, whether they realize it or not.”
The Village subdivision, situated between Bowling Green High School and the Wood County Fairgrounds, will see a big investment with more than $4 million being spent on water distribution and wastewater collection in that neighborhood.
“The residents there shouldn’t see us for another 50 years or so,” O’Connell said.
On the south end of the city, major waterline work will be done prior to the road work planned on South Main Street from Ordway Avenue to Gypsy Lane Road.
“Hopefully people understand we are updating our infrastructure,” he said.
And on the north edge of the city, utility work is planned to provide the services needed for the proposed Abbott Labs plant on Ohio 25.
“Abbotts is going to be a large user for us,” possibly needing up to one million gallons a day, O’Connell said. “That equipment is going to benefit all customers who use Bowling Green drinking water.”
The city is also investing in rebuilding the 1940’s original water intake from the Maumee River to the reservoir at the water treatment plant.
“We’ll have the ability to pump more water into the reservoir,” filling the 170 million gallon reservoir faster, O’Connell said.
And improvements at the wastewater treatment plant should result in fewer overflows during large rains.
The city is also putting an estimated $1.7 million into painting and revamping its western water tower. It is hoped the Carter Park water tower will make the list for 2025.
“We just always find more pressing needs than painting the water tower,” O’Connell said.
In all cases, the city seeks out available grant funding to help with utility projects, and such funding is expected for multiple projects next year.
Following is a rundown on some of the larger utility investments planned in Bowling Green in 2024.
Water distribution projects
- The Village waterline replacement is expected to cost $2.6 million, and will replace about 6,000 linear feet of water mains. Several water main breaks have occurred and the existing pipe is in poor condition, likely due to corrosive soils.
- Replacing water mains with a larger 12-inch water main along South Main Street, from Ordway to Gypsy Lane, will cost about $2.4 million.
Wastewater collection projects
- $250,000 for land acquisition. The existing pump stations at South Main Street, West Poe Road, and the Village subdivision are reaching the end of their lives and will soon need to be replaced. The city will acquire easements on properties near the existing pump stations that will allow new ones to be constructed while the old ones are in service.
- $50,000 for a stormwater drainage study on South Main Street. An engineering firm has determined that a storm water pond would improve the operation of the storm sewer.
- $200,000 for improvements to the Manitoba Pond pump station. Some residents of the Pheasant Farms subdivision have expressed concerns about the city’s storm sewer system and their private detention pond. The city’s storm sewer system remains flooded at all times due to the elevation of the pond, which is influenced by the Belleville Ditch. To drain the city’s storm sewer system, a stormwater pump station would need to be installed to pump stormwater from the sewer to the ditch.
- $1.5 million for Village pump station improvements. The current pump station for the subdivision has an undersized wet well, lacks redundancy and is not accessible due to the location of the dry pit. The pump station will be replaced with a new submersible pump station.
- $300,000 to reline sewer located in the north-south alley that is west of Main Street, between Pearl Street and Court Street.
- $120,000 to reline the sewer located along the railroad tracks north of Napoleon Road.
- $60,000 to clean the ditch along East Poe Road from Mercer Road to Interstate 75, and clean other drainage ditches in the city.
Water treatment plant projects
- $3.5 million to rebuild screens, increase the pumping capacity, new electrical and controls, and other improvements to the original low service pump station from the Maumee River to the reservoir at the city’s water treatment plant.
- $4 million for additional microfiltration and reverse osmosis. Abbott Industries is preparing to construct a large facility in Bowling Green and will be a large water user. Additional treatment equipment will ensure the plant has adequate water treatment capabilities to supply drinking water to all customers.
Water pollution control projects
- $11.5 million for final clarifier engineering and operation optimization study. The current clarifiers often become overloaded during long periods of wet weather. This causes the downstream disk filters to become overloaded and can result in exceeding the plant’s effluent permit limits.
- $1.5 million to replace the pier collector equipment in the two primary clarifier tanks, which are at the end of their usefulness.
Electric infrastructure projects
- $1.8 million for transformer improvements, fence replacement and other upgrades to the Gypsy Lane substation transformer.
- $2 million for distribution improvements for Abbott Industries.
- $2.5 million for distribution equipment improvements for the electric north circuit to supply power to portions of Ohio 582.
- $1 million for transmission pole replacements.
- $750,000 for Carter Park ball field lighting project.
