CADIZ — The village’s water treatment plant upgrades and improvements are set to get underway in the next few months.

Cadiz Village Council discussed the project during Thursday’s evening meeting. The expansion project is set to begin in mid-March or early April.

Following the meeting, Mayor John Migliore said the $2.3 million project is crucial to provide the village with clean drinking water and also to increase water production capacity. The Ohio

Environmental Protection Agency prompted the upgrades after the village’s water source, Tappan Lake, tested positive for small amounts of cyanotoxins, which are produced by harmful algal blooms.

“That’s the main reason why we’re upgrading,” he said.

According to prior reports, small amounts of cyanotoxins are safe for consumption, but elevated amounts can cause health problems. The upgrades are a pre-emptive measure in case the levels would ever become unsafe.

The upgrades are also necessary to provide increased water production capacity for the village. This increase in capacity will enable the village to supply the Harrison Energy Center power plant when it is built.

The project cannot begin until all the equipment and an alternative water source are in place, Migliore said. The village must have a backup water source in place in order to provide residents with water while the plant receives the upgrades.

“It’s really important that we have everything available and ready before it starts,” he said. “We’ll be shutting down our existing water plant and they’ll be bringing in a portable water plant. It will purify the water and put it back into the tanks. To my knowledge, this is the first time it’s ever been done in Ohio.”

The village will have a truck brought in that will filter the water from the Tappan Reservoir to act as its backup water source.

Once the upgrades are completed, the water production capacity will reach 1 million gallons per day. The village’s current actual flow is approximately 400,000 gallons per day.

Migliore said the village has secured numerous funding sources for the facility upgrades including a principal forgiveness loan of up to $1 million through the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. According to OEPA, such loans stem from the federal Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act, providing financing for disadvantaged communities to complete environmental infrastructure projects. A portion — or perhaps all — of the loan may be forgiven and will not have to be paid, much like a grant.

Council next meets at 7 p.m. Feb. 4 at the fire department social hall in the village.