A new filtration system for Green Oak Township’s waste water treatment plant is expected to keep its machines from continuously experiencing expensive equipment failures.

Township Supervisor Mark St. Charles says for nearly two decades, the treatment plant has been adversely affected by by-products like napkins, diapers and bottle tops that have not been properly filtered out prior to the process. After those materials are ground up, move through the system and mix with air, they tend to cling to machine floats and control mechanisms, causing frequent system failures and sometimes, an odor.

St. Charles says those system fixes have been extremely expensive and an ongoing problem for the last 18 years. Township officials have been keeping their eye on the problem and saving money for a solution. On Wednesday the board of trustees took action, authorizing an expenditure of up to $35,000 to design a new screen and filter system for the plant. St. Charles is glad to see the plant evolve, noting that most plants that are being built these days are designed with that type of filtration already in place.

The total project is estimated to cost around $480,000, which St. Charles says is about $250,000 less than the estimate they received when exploring the concept two years ago. The township already has the money available in their capital fund, which was allocated specifically for plant improvements.(DK)