The Port of Morrow announced on Tuesday that construction has begun on two large water storage lagoons.
The port said the lagoons will increase capacity to hold winter-season industrial wastewater processed by the Port of Morrow.
Under a pending permit modification with the Department of Environmental Quality, lagoon construction must be completed by the 2026 winter growing season.
The lagoons are part of a larger project that includes three anaerobic digesters and secondary water treatment. The anaerobic digesters are already built.
The two new lagoons will add 1.5 billion gallons of storage, bringing the port’s total storage capacity to 2.1 billion gallons.
Each lagoon will be lined to avoid water seepage. It will take 2 million square feet of liner to seal the lagoons.
Engineers estimate 1.8 million cubic yards of earthworks will be removed for the two lagoons. So far, 200,000 cubic yards have been removed.
The total project will cost more than $400 million. Port officials are working to secure state and federal financing for the project. Fees paid by wastewater generators will go to repay debt financing.
