Morgan County receives $750,000 to improve sewer infrastructure

MCCONNELSVILLE, Ohio – Morgan County will receive $750,000 in grants from the Ohio Department of Development to address sewer infrastructure.

The Community Development Block Grant supports a $5.25 million project that will install new gravity sewers in and around McConnelsville and replace the Riverside Drive pump station. According to Village Administrator Timothy Louis, this has led to raw sewage discharging into the ground and local waterways, which is why he is excited to have the project fully funded.

“This is huge for the community. We’ve had so many problems with infiltration throughout our community and this particular area is the main area that we have infiltration. When you have infiltration in your sewer, you’re having rain water enter into your sanitary sewers which is causing your waste water treatment plant to overwork itself,” Louis said. “So this project is going to be huge and just the amount of people that came together with the funding for this is, has been, phenomenal. ”

Thanks to a unique agreement with the village of Malta across the Muskingum River, Louis says that the impact of this project will be felt by more than just the village of McConnelsville.

“The village of Malta and the village of McConnelsville have shared services agreements. To where the village of Malta utilizes our wastewater treatment plant and the village of McConnelsville utilizes their water treatment plant. So it helps them as well as it helps us,” Louis said.

Louis hopes to have construction started by late summer of this year. This project is one of several ongoing in McConnelsville, including renovations to the Twin City Opera House and a new riverfront park along the Muskingum River.