In November 2023, Toledoans voted overwhelmingly in support of allowing the City to proactively move forward on improvements at the Bay View Water Reclamation Plant. Bay View was built in 1926 and has not seen any significant improvements to its main processes since the mid-1980s. Bay View treats all of the City's and some surrounding suburbs' residential, commercial, and industrial wastewater before it returns to Lake Erie, which amounts to approximately 65 million gallons per day when the weather is dry and up to 400 million gallons when it rains.
Over the next 15 years, the City is investing approximately $629 million (in 2021 dollars) to upgrade the treatment facility and make other repairs to the wastewater system to meet regulations and provide reliable wastewater service to Toledo residents.
After making major improvements to the Collins Park Water Treatment Plant, which treats the water between Lake Erie and our homes and businesses, and keeping our water safe to drink, we are ready to move on to the other side of the water treatment cycle.
The work is divided into three "tiers" organized by the level of importance.
$242 million
First five years (Tier 1)
Early improvements have already begun on a new Chlorination Building and Chemical Building to remove phosphorus from wastewater and disinfect treated effluent before it is discharged to the Maumee River.
Beginning in 2025, the City will continue with the elements of the wastewater system that are the highest priority, including wastewater pumping stations located out in the sewer system, and rehabilitation of major facility tunnels within the plant.
The majority of Tier 1 improvements will focus on facilities that handle the solids, or "sludge", that is removed from wastewater, including:
Gravity thickeners, which help gravity do the work of separating solid particles from the water in the sludge. This helps concentrate the solids before the later digestion phase.
Digesters and gas system where microorganisms begin to break down ("digest") the solids. This process releases a methane-rich biogas, which the City can use as an energy source, aiding in our sustainability efforts.
Dewatering process to further separate the water from the digested sludge, so it can be transported for disposal or application to agricultural fields as a beneficial fertilizer, or "biosolids".
$308 million
Next five years (Tier 2)
Beginning in 2029, the City will focus on less urgent concerns. This involves removing the obsolete digesters to make way for new primary clarifiers.
Primary Clarifiers are a wastewater treatment unit of equipment that settles and removes solids from the incoming wastewater.
The "Secondary Treatment Process" removes organic solids from the settled wastewater using a biological process. Equipment, pipes, and pumps will be refurbished or replaced.
Further enhancements to solids processing will be implemented to address new regulations.
The remaining outlying pump stations will be upgraded.
$79 million
Final five years (Tier 3)
In the final five years, the City will address several smaller projects like replacing blowers that support the secondary treatment process, installing a new flushing gate for wet weather treatment, and improvements to the access control system.