Aqua Ohio has begun work on a $12 million renovation to its Poland Township treatment plant.

Work is well underway at the plant site on State Route 170.

The 100-year-old plant has seen numerous upgrades, but Aqua says the purpose of this renovation is to replace equipment that has reached its expected useful life.

"It's been time for a major upgrade to keep up with the changing regulations and also to modernize our treatment process," said Jennifer Johnson, Aqua area manager.

The old process of settling tanks will be replaced with four 146,000 gallon clarifier tanks and modern treatment techniques. 

"So when the water comes in from Evans Lake the first part of the treatment processes are going to take place in the new facility," said Johnson.

When completed, two-thirds of the water treatment process will have been replaced. 

As far as water rates, Aqua says it is in the second year of a five year rate package agreement with the communities they serve.

 "Even with the capital investments we were able to roll back the rates and this improvement was included in that local rate plan," said Johnson.

The plant currently produces an average of 4.6 million gallons of water a day.

The new efficiency of the plant is designed to meet future supply and regulatory demands. 

"They have the foresight to see those rules coming and act on them to improve that water quality immediately," said production manager George Ginnis.

The renovation is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2019.