The Ohio EPA recommends public water utilities have enough elevated water storage to meet average daily water demands and ensure that water can be supplied continuously for 24 hours in the event of a power outage or other service disruption, such as water main breaks or equipment failure, according to the city staff report.
Based on current water demands, the city needed to to add a minimum of 1.5 million gallons of elevated storage. Given the current development trends, upsizing the tank to 2 million gallons is recommended to meet the near-term demands., the city said.
The city chose the Manchester Road location because elevated storage tanks can provide pressurized flow via gravity, without the operation of any mechanical equipment.
The original tower, built in 1980, is one of four in the city and a Kensington Road underground reservoir, according to Scott Tadych, Middletown public works director.
“Our industrial usage has been up since about 2019,” he said. “EPA recommends you have an equal amount of above ground storage as your average daily flow of water usage.”
Tadych said the Manchester location was “always intended to have another tower on it. In the planning stages, we did look at some other areas, but ultimately it worked out because the land is owned by the city.”
He said there are some positives in the “redundancy” of having two towers on the site rather than one larger tower; for example, when one needs to be offline for maintenance. Constructing one larger towner would also be more expensive, he said.
The selection process was first discussed at a council meeting in February 2023 and later during a community outreach event in July 2023, according to the staff.
Construction is expected to be completed by early 2026. It will be funded by the state’s revolving loan fund program for water infrastructure operated by the EPA with a 25- to 30-year-loan term, according to Acting City Manager Nathan Cahall.
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