Kemp Announces $422M in
Water/Sewer Infrastructure Grants
Area Communities Get Over $8.2M
On Tuesday, Governor Brian P. Kemp announced over $422 million in preliminary grants that will ensure communities in high-need areas have reliable and safe drinking water and wastewater systems. Over $8.2 million of this funding was awarded to communities in this area.
Cities in this area that applied for and were awarded grants were City of Vidalia, $4 million; the City of Lyons, $1,580,756; the City of Mount Vernon, $929,606; the City of Uvalda, $1,158, 156; and the City of Oak Park, $659, 225.
The grants came from federal coronavirus relief funds allocated to Georgia through the American Rescue Plan. State government entities, units of local government, industries, and nonprofits were eligible to apply. Last June, Governor Kemp announced members of the bi- continued from page
partisan Georgia Jobs and Infrastructure Committees that were responsible for receiving applications and making recommendations to the Governor regarding allocations of these funds.
Among those attending the announcement ceremony at the State Capitol Tuesday were House Appropriations Chairman Terry England and Senate Appropriations Chair Blake Tillery, who were members of the Georgia Jobs and Infrastructure Committees, as well as other members of the Water and Sewer Infrastructure Committee.
Also present was Mount Vernon Mayor Joey B. Fountain, who expressed his gratitude for the funding his hometown received. “I am very appreciative and the citizens of my town are very appreciative of you, Governor Kemp, and the community you have around you. You have done a great job representing the rural areas of the state, and the people I represent are grateful.”
“We had a problem with a well in our city,” he explained. “There are two wells in our area, in two towns that back up to each other, Mount Vernon and Ailey. Ailey’s well would not feed Mount Vernon’s tanks because of lack of pressure. Being down to one well with 3,000 people depending on you and knowing that mechanics break down is not a gamble you want to take.” Mayor Fountain plans to allocate these funds to correct this problem within the city, and work to ensure that citizens have a reliable water source. During the official announcement, Kemp commented, “Because we remained focused on protecting lives and livelihoods throughout the pandemic, Georgia is now in a position to make strategic, transformational investments in our state’s water and sewer infrastructure.” He added, “I want to thank the committee members for dedicating their time and expertise to help us make these awards, as well as the grants team at the Office of Planning and Budget.”
The Governor noted, “I am proud to know that we have worked hard to prioritize projects which address pressing public health and environmental issues, support economic development, and enhance our ability to be good stewards of our water resources for generations to come.” continued from page
These investments will
help: Improve drinking water treatment; Extend drinking water service to high-need areas; Improve drinking water infrastructure including interconnections and additional sources to ensure water system resiliency; high-tech meters and asset management systems to improve drinking water system responsiveness to issues such as leaks or line breaks; upsizing or replacing pipes to reduce leaks and water loss; and lead pipe inventory development and replacement; Improve wastewater treatment, resulting in cleaner lakes and rivers; Improve biosolids management, resulting in less waste in our landfills; Improve sewer systems, resulting in fewer spills that can pose threats to public health and environmental quality; and Secure Georgia’s water resources for future generations.
The City of Lyons plans to use its grant for a variety of projects. According to City Manager Jason Hall, the sum of $1,580,756 will be divided to accomplish the following tasks: sanitary and storm water improvements in the Roosevelt Avenue Area, mechanical lift station renovations in other areas of the City, U.S. Highway 1 North deep well construction, water system improvements in Emanual Circle, and U.S.Highway 1 North elevated storage tank construction.
“This money is vital to the city of Lyons,” Hall emphasized. The funding will positively impact 4,521 individuals who make up the town’s daytime population. The total cost of the planned improvements and construction totals $3,293,321, which will be funded through the additional ARPA grant and matched by a federal grant of $1,712,565 set aside from a previous application.
The City of Vidalia will use its $4 million grant to continue to combat the brown water issue that has plagued the City since September. Currently, the municipality has used the implementation of automatic flushers and a flushing system to help remedy the issue. Mayor Doug Roper commented on the grant. 'We could not be more excited to learn our American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant application with the state has been approved,” he remarked. “Our elected officials committed $2 million of the city's Federal ARPA funding as a match for our application to the state, which totaled $6 million. We are blessed to have received an additional $4 million from the state. With this additional funding from the state, we will be able to invest nearly $6 million into our infrastructure and further address the issue of brown water.“ He added, “This is incredible news for our residents and business community. Our flushing program, water tower cleaning, and placement of automatic flushers on hydrants in strategic areas, has already proved to be successful in addressing our issue, but these additional resources will allow us to remove galvanized and cast iron pipes in targeted areas.”
Mayor of Oak Park Mickey Lindsey said the grant his city received will pay for a secondary well. He said the city is already at work on adding a water softener system to the main well to address a radon issue, although the radon levels are not severe enough to pose a health hazard but still required action and a second well was recommended as part of the process.
