|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2023
EGLE Media Office, EGLE-Assist@Michigan.gov, 517-284-9278
EGLE announces $81.2 million in MI Clean Water grants to help Michigan communities upgrade water infrastructure, protect health and the environment
Water main and lead service line replacements in Kalamazoo and Ovid and wastewater plant upgrades in Hart and on Mackinac Island are among $81.2 million in Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) grants recently awarded to Michigan communities.
The MI Clean Water Plan grants, through EGLE’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) and Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) aim to help communities upgrade aging infrastructure to ensure healthy drinking water and protect Michigan’s environment.
Seventy percent of Michiganders are served by more than 1,000 community wastewater systems and a similar percentage get drinking water from community water systems. Those systems often struggle to find resources to address legacy issues like aging drinking water and stormwater facilities and emerging challenges like compliance with new standards for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) “forever chemicals.”
Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan Legislature, and federal agencies have ramped up funding for aging water infrastructure – a critical move to help ensure those water systems continue to protect public health and the environment, including Michigan’s unmatched freshwater resources.
More than half of EGLE’s budget has traditionally passed through to Michigan cities, towns, villages, and other local government agencies to finance critical improvements that help them better protect residents and our natural resources.
Grant roundup
Recent grants through the DWSRF:
- City of St. Joseph for $3,262,500. This funding provides for the Upton Drive water main replacement, lead service line replacements along the I-94 Business Loop, and water filtration plant upgrades.
- City of Grand Ledge for $900,000. This project provides for a new raw water main from Well No. 2 to the iron removal plant and a variable frequency drive installed at Well No. 2.
- Village of Quincy for $1,322,900. The project includes replacement of approximately 28 lead service lines and the iron removal plant equipment. These items include the filter media, mixers, blowers, piping, valves, motor control center, high service pumps, and variable frequency drives.
- City of Kalamazoo for $7,015,402. This funding provides for water main and lead service line replacements within the city.
- Genesee County for $2,326,250. This funding provides for the Fenton Road watermain extension project.
- Village of Shepherd for $5,935,000. This project consists of the replacement of 26,000 linear feet of aging water mains, lead service lines throughout the village, and 270 water meter replacements as well as a new emergency generator.
- Village of Addison for $2,475,000. This funding provides for water treatment plant improvements, a new water tower, watermain looping, and water meters.
- Village of Carsonville for $2,469,429. This funding provides for an elevated water tower, water meters, abandonment of Well A, and water treatment plant improvements.
- City of Ovid for $6,453,600. This project consists of the replacement of 31,500 linear feet of water main, replacement of lead service lines, the installation of approximately 658 water meters throughout the city, and removal and replacement of filter media.
- East Lansing Meridian Water and Sewer Authority for $4,015,000. This funding provides for Park Lake and Okemos Road (Phase 2) raw water main installation; a new storage reservoir at the water treatment plant and the purchase of three wells from the Lansing Board of Water & Light.
- City of Muskegon for $3,236,505. This funding provides for citywide lead service line replacements and water main upgrades in the Wilcox-Thompson and Morton Avenue Neighborhoods.
Recent grants through the CWSRF:
- City of Mason for $2,800,000. This funding will go toward wastewater treatment plant improvements.
- City of St. Joseph for $333,333. This funding provides for the Upton Drive reconstruction, sewer replacement and force main river crossing.
- Clark Township for $1,800,000. This project includes the replacement of 650 grinder pumps, 50 tank replacements, and 700 control replacements. Clark Township will also perform work to update its asset management plan.
- City of Hart for $4,005,000. This funding provides for improvements to the City of Hart BioPure Wastewater Treatment Facility.
- City of Hart for $1,432,500. This project includes replacement of approximately 3,199 linear feet of 8-inch diameter sanitary sewer pipe and 730 linear feet of 12-inch diameter sanitary sewer pipe. The city will also relocate approximately 377 linear feet of sanitary sewer pipe from an alley into the roadway.
- Delhi Charter Township for $382,000. This funding will provide for wastewater treatment plant improvements.
- City of Mackinac Island for $15,000,000. This funding provides for wastewater treatment plant improvements.
- Village of Quincy for $1,505,000. This project includes replacement of the existing Pleasant Street lift station along with adjacent manholes and approximately 350 linear feet of sanitary sewer along Liberty Street. The existing screening equipment, aeration system, slide gates, and ferric chloride system at the wastewater treatment plant will be replaced. Riprap will be installed around the perimeter of Lagoon No. 1.
- South Haven Area Water Sewer Authority for $3,640,000. The project includes replacement of blowers and diffusers in the secondary treatment system. New ultraviolet disinfection will be installed to replace the existing chlorine disinfection system.
- City of Ishpeming for $8,025,000. This project consists of sanitary sewer main replacements and improvements including cured-in-place lining sewer reconstruction, lift station improvements, and a trenchless installation of a 30-inch diameter pipe at a river crossing.
- City of Eaton Rapids for $2,120,000. This funding provides for a lift station and wastewater treatment plant improvements.
- Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority for $799,500. This project includes replacement of existing ultraviolet (UV) disinfection equipment. The existing odor control system will be replaced. Additionally, the wet well, scrubbers, fans, ductwork, tanks, and electrical gear within the headworks will be replaced.
Descriptions of funding sources
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund: Low-interest loan program to help public water systems finance the costs of replacement and repair of drinking water infrastructure to protect public health and achieve or maintain compliance with federal Safe Drinking Water Act requirements. The DWSRF provides loans to water systems for eligible infrastructure projects. As water systems repay their loans, the repayments and interest flow back into the DWSRF to support new loans. American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding operates as a grant and may be used in combination with loan dollars to reduce the financial burden on communities to pay for capital improvement debt. ARPA funded grants awarded this fiscal year: $218,398,719.
Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF): Used by local municipalities to finance construction of water pollution control projects. These projects include wastewater treatment plant upgrades and expansions, combined or sanitary sewer overflow abatement, new sewers designed to reduce existing sources of pollution, and other publicly owned wastewater treatment efforts that improve water quality. The CWSRF can also finance stormwater infrastructure projects to reduce nonpoint sources of water pollution caused by things like agricultural runoff to lakes, streams, and wetlands. As with the DWSRF, ARPA funds can be used in conjunction with CWSRF loan dollars, thereby reducing the debt communities pay for infrastructure improvements. ARPA-funded grants awarded this fiscal year: $137,982,009.
Drinking Water Asset Management Program: Provides grant funding to assist drinking water suppliers with asset management plan development and updates, and/or distribution system materials inventories as defined in Michigan’s revised Lead and Copper Rule. Awarded this fiscal year: $19,695,817.
Consolidation and Contamination Risk Reduction Program: Established to aid drinking water systems to help remove or reduce PFAS or other contaminants. Awarded this fiscal year: $20,336,215.
Substantial Public Health Risk Project Program: Protects public and environmental health by removing direct and continuous discharges of wastewater from surface or groundwater. Awarded this fiscal year: $8,000,000.
Additional Background
- Since January 2019 the State of Michigan has invested over $4 billion to upgrade drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater facilities across the state, supporting over 57,000 jobs.
- In 2022, Governor Whitmer signed a package of bills to help communities access funding for water infrastructure.
###
###
|
