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MILFORD - Water quality for the town of Milford is expected to be “drastically” improved when the new water treatment plant and distribution system improvements are completed by late next year.
The town and its partners on the projects had a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday at 11693 S. Higbee St. to celebrate the project that’s been about four years in the making.
The treatment plant will be constructed by R. Yoder Construction, with Selge Construction constructing the distribution system improvements.
Nate Yoder, R. Yoder Construction director of business development, kicked off the ceremony, saying, “We’re pleased to partner not only with the town of Milford, but also Commonwealth Engineers. What a great project for the town. We all know that infrastructure is necessary, right? It’s kind of the unseen expense that everybody is shocked by, but it’s necessary, right? Quality of life is important, quality of water and that dependable water source is what we’re here for, for the town of Milford.”
Milford Town Council President Doug Ruch thanked everyone for being there.
“Once again, it is a milestone for the town of Milford and all the efforts that carried on behind the scenes, from the initial proposal to this, through the grant phase, through the planning stage, through the design phase, through the bid phase and hopefully to the project finish phase. I just want to thank everyone that’s involved,” he said.
Northern District County Commissioner Sue Ann Mitchell stated, “What a great gathering for a great project done by people with courage who had been willing to step outside the normal box and do special things for their community. I am so proud of the town of Milford.”
She said Tuesday’s groundbreaking was the second or third thing she’s been in Milford for “where you have made great achievements. That’s something to be very proud of in your small community. Your small community is going to grow because of these great decisions and great things you have been able to move forward with.”
On behalf of the county, Mitchell said they are grateful the town took the step and that Michiana Area Council of Governments (MACOG) had a little piece of the puzzle in trying to help Milford get to that point.
Along with the town council, she recognized Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall for “all her efforts in helping get this across the finish line. What a great, great accomplishment for your small community that’s going to be big.”
Donny Ritsema, MACOG state-certified grant administrator, explained after the ceremony that MACOG helped the town of Milford back in 2021 receive a Community Development Block Grant Planning Grant to develop a master utility study.
“The study identified the need for the new water treatment plant, as well as the distribution lines, following the study done by Commonwealth Engineers,” he said.
The planning grant was for $90,000, with the town providing a 10% match, for a total project cost of $100,000.
The project was funded through the Indiana Finance Authority (IFA) State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan program, according to information provided at the ceremony. The town received $4,761,000 in forgivable loan dollars through SRF, as well as part of the funding of the project.
Providing some background on the project during the ceremony, Ryan LaReau, project engineer with Commonwealth Engineers Inc., said it’s been more than three years since the town started the project, starting with a survey of the residents. A preliminary engineer report was put together, and then they went through the application process for funding.
“It’s been many years in the making,” he said. “As many of you know, Milford is a groundwater-sourced community. With that comes hard water. They’ve been plagued with high iron levels and manganese levels, as long as they’ve been a distribution system. And, that leads to cloudy water, leads to deposits forming inside of pipes, fittings, valves, inside the water mains, hydrants and even in appliances in homes.”
LaReau said the water treatment plant will utilize aeration detention filtration equipment to remove all the hard water, which will “drastically” improve the water quality for the residents and users in the town.
“In addition to that, we’ve got improvements in the distribution system, addressing 11 areas of dead-end water mains that are in that system,” he said.
When there’s dead-end water mains, that cuts down on flows and pressures in the system, so the improvements will address those.
“Lastly, another big part of it is replacement of lead and galvanized water services throughout the system. So all those pieces are definitely some of the biggest needs that Milford has in the water system,” LaReau stated, adding the whole project team is thrilled to partner with R. Yoder Construction for the plant construction and with Selge for the distribution system improvements. “So we’re looking forward to a great project.”
Construction of the new water treatment plant is expected to take about 13 months, while the distribution system improvements will take about seven months, LaReau said after the ceremony.
Gabrielle Taber, Commonwealth Engineers director of business development/operations, said Commonwealth’s involvement in the project began about four years ago, working alongside MACOG in helping the town get a grant from the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) to do a master utility study.
“So it looked at, at least three of their utilities - water, wastewater and stormwater. So that was about three to four years ago. And then after that study, the town focused on the water, that was the biggest need. So we were able to secure the town a grant funding, as well as a loan from the State Revolving Fund for about $4,761,000 in forgiveable loan dollars, and I would say that was about a year or so ago,” she recounted after the ceremony.
They’ve been through the design phase, finished that and now the project is in construction.
“It’ll be cleaner water, better looking and cleaner, more drinkable water, and higher quality,” Taber said. “And, then the other part, as Ryan LaReau said, is throughout the town, it’s just replacing water lines that have been dead ends, so it’s not able to flow very well so that also contributes to bad quality of water. So that will help it as well. So a big project for them.”
