Putting Dayton in the "limelight"

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - Dayton is looking to expand it's lime making operation to include old lime from other communities.

The city has been using its lime facility since the mid-50's to save on buying and disposing of lime. The facility runs 24/7 outside of two weeks every year when it's down for repairs.

If you're looking to cool off, it isn't the place to be with temperatures near the kiln reaching upwards of 150 degrees and temperatures inside around 2,000 degrees.

"It's like being in a desert," says plant supervisor Shannon Zell.

The only thing hotter might be the product being produced.

"We think it's a tremendous benefit we can offer," says Deputy Director of the Water Department, Matt Carpenter.

It looks like a potions factory with bubbling cauldrons of white, still pools of green and a kiln where fires forge the finished product, but what comes out of it isn't magic, although there is a lot of dust.

What's being produced is the lime used to soften water.

"The water that gets distributed to our customers is a soft water, a high quality water," Carpenter says.

The place where Dayton makes that lime is one of only two in the country owned by cities.

Basically, it's like a giant recycling plant, taking the city's old lime and making it new again.

"They give me their sludge and I give them back a high quality product," Zell says.

In that way the plant has saved the city millions, but it could soon produce even more.

Dayton is on the verge of charging other cities to take their lime waste and put it through the same process.

"We want to expand this into a more regional operation and help as many communities out as we can," Carpenter says.

In the meantime Dayton's lime plant continues churning out the heat and the lime.

"It's one of a kind," Carpenter says. "We're blessed to have it."