What you need to know as Aqua Ohio transitions to new Poland Township water treatment plant

Aqua Ohio is taking final steps to incorporate the city of Campbell into its new water treatment plant in Poland Township, the company announced on Wednesday in a news release.

The company will retire its water treatment plant in Campbell the week of April 4. The treatment plant in Poland underwent $17.6 million in renovations to improve efficiency and make the transition possible.

“Interconnecting Campbell to our Poland water treatment plant is the last step in the process of bringing the residents of Campbell into our Aqua family,” Jennifer Johnson, area manager for Aqua, said in the release.

The company purchased the Campbell water system in January 2020 as a $7.5 million agreement with the city to provide continued commitment to invest $4 million to enhance water quality, reliability, regulatory and environmental standards in the system, according to the release.

Aqua has replaced valves and hydrants, upgraded all water meters, and fixed leaks in the distribution to decrease the amount of lost water in the system, the release reads.

The water treatment plant in Poland uses chloramines instead of free-chlorine to disinfect and preserve water quality once water leaves the plant, according to the release. This process offers longer lasting disinfection and reduces the possibility of harmful byproducts in the water.

Aqua provided this guidance to customers in the release:

• Aqua customers should not notice any change in the appearance, taste or smell of the water.
• Customers using tap water in kidney dialysis machines should consult with their physician or equipment supplier about ways to deal with the change in disinfection processes.
• Fish tank owners should use additives that neutralize chloramines, like liquid drops, whenever they add tap water to their tanks.

“The former Campbell Water Department employees have done a great job producing compliant water from a very dated facility but taking the city’s old water treatment plant out of service was always part of our plan to ensure the drinking water provided to Campbell continues to meet current and future regulatory requirements,” Johnson said in the release.

This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 2:51 PM.