PUBLIC INTEREST CENTER, (614) 644-2160
MEDIA CONTACT: Heidi Griesmer
CITIZEN CONTACT: Mary McCarron

Today, Ohio EPA announced that it is awarding $500,000 in H2Ohio funding to help improve sanitary sewer services for hundreds of residents in Miami County.

Ohio EPA is providing the funding to the village of West Milton as part of Gov. Mike DeWine’s H2Ohio initiative. The money will support a planned project to construct sanitary sewers in the village of Ludlow Falls, where failing home sewage treatment systems have caused high coliform readings in nearby Ludlow Creek.

“Ohio’s communities rely on wastewater infrastructure to protect public health, which is why my H2Ohio plan aims to assist communities that need help building infrastructure,” said Governor DeWine. “This project will directly impact more than 200 people in Ludlow Falls and help improve the water quality in Ludlow Creek.”

The project consists of constructing 9,600 feet of sanitary sewers, a pump station, and 7,300 feet of forcemain to capture wastewater from Ludlow Falls and send it to West Milton’s existing wastewater treatment plant.

“Throughout the state, addressing infrastructure needs, such as the extension of centralized sanitary sewers, is a key goal of H2Ohio,” said Ohio EPA Director Laurie A. Stevenson. “Governor DeWine’s H2Ohio plan enables Ohio EPA to extend its available funds to help more communities like West Milton and Ludlow Falls address their water and sewer needs.”

The West Milton project is also receiving grants from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Community Development Block Grant Program, and the Ohio Water Development Authority. Ohio EPA has also provided $500,000 in principal forgiveness for the project from the state revolving loan fund.

As part of the H2Ohio initiative, Ohio EPA has also awarded a total of $2 million in funding for drinking water infrastructure projects in Pike County, Coshocton, and New Waterford. An additional $1 million in H2Ohio funding has been awarded for wastewater projects in Pomeroy and Williams County.

For more information on Gov. DeWine’s H2Ohio water quality plan, visit h2.ohio.gov.

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The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1972 to consolidate efforts to protect and improve air quality, water quality and waste management in Ohio. Since then, air pollutants dropped by as much as 90 percent; large rivers meeting standards improved from 21 percent to 89 percent; and hundreds of polluting, open dumps were replaced with engineered landfills and an increased emphasis on waste reduction and recycling.