The Village of Middleport, Ohio has been awarded over $2.9 million in stimulus funds from Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to address clean drinking water and sewage treatment for its residents. Middleport, located in Southeastern Ohio, in Meigs County, also received a $710,000 interest-free loan to complete funding for these two projects. Founded in 1798, the Village sits on the banks of the Ohio River, and was named because it is halfway between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
"We are the poster child for stimulus funds, "said Mayor Michael Gerlach. "We had projects that could be shovel-ready very quickly, we applied and were awarded the dollars. We were so surprised and grateful when we were given the news."
As a result, the Village will construct a new well, capable of providing 400 gallons of clean drinking water per minute to Village residents. The clean drinking water project will allow Middleport to replace more than 27,000 feet of water main pipe and 70 valves. Middleport will see the cost of fire insurance decrease as 47 new hydrants are installed. While their brick streets and sidewalks will need to be dug up to install the waterlines, the bricks will be replaced, allowing Middleport to keep its historical charm.
Middleport also received stimulus dollars to address its aging sewage treatment system. Like many small towns, Middleport uses lagoons, which are shallow ponds designed to hold wastewater while treated. A lagoon uses sunlight, bacterial action, and oxygen to purify water but Middleport's two 11-acre lagoons are not adequate. According to Faymon Roberts, the Village Operator, Middleport needs to mix or circulate the lagoon water in order to add oxygen and help the good bacteria clean the water. If the Village had purchased electric circulators, the electric bill alone would have cost the town more than $80,000 every year — not a solution Middleport citizens could easily bear.
The solution was to purchase solar-powered mixers for the lagoons, called SolarBees. Mayor Gerlach, Operator Roberts and Fiscal Officer Sue Baker teamed up with Ohio EPA to find an affordable, effective and green technology solution. They purchased four SolarBee units. One unit alone saves the energy that 20 homes use and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 150 tons/year. Operator Roberts, who has spent his career in wastewater treatment, says the SolarBees will operate day and night on energy produced by the sun, keeping the Village from having to install overhead power lines to the lagoons. And, the water the Village releases into the Ohio River will be cleaner than the river water itself.
"This is a gift that will last 40 or 50 years and will benefit our citizens, their children and grandchildren," fiscal officer Baker said. "We could not have done this without the stimulus dollars. We got an incredible gift."