Today Governor Cooper has announced that over $166 million has been awarded to communities across our state to help pay for 88 critical drinking water and wastewater projects. The projects are specifically directed at infrastructure resiliency and protection of drinking water and the environment.
“All families across our state deserve clean water,” said Governor Cooper. “Some water and sewer systems are over a hundred years old, and these funds will help communities meet their infrastructure challenges.”
Some of the most significant projects that have just been funded include:
- More than $4.5 million in drinking water and wastewater funding for Bethel in Pitt County to prepare the small town’s failing systems to merge with the Greenville Utilities Commission.
- Woodland in Northampton County will receive $983,500 from the Community Development Block Grant-Infrastructure program, helping the town become compliant and more efficient and environmentally protective.
- Clayton will receive a $30 million loan from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund for their water reclamation facility.
A list of all projects funded statewide by town and/or county is available at: https://files.nc.gov/ncdeq/WI/Authority/Feb.-2020-State-Water-Infrastructure-Authority-Funding-Approvals.pdf
The grants and loans are funded through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund loan program, Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan program, the Wastewater State Reserve program, the Community Development Block Grant-Infrastructure program, the Asset Inventory and Assessment Grant program and the Merger/Regionalization Feasibility Grant program. The funds were officially approved Feb. 12 by the State Water Infrastructure Authority.
Recent studies show that our state still requires between $17 billion to $26 billion in upgrades to its water and sewer infrastructure statewide.
“Access to clean water and reliable water infrastructure is critical to the economic competitiveness and future resiliency of North Carolina’s communities. This funding is essential to help utilities across our state meet some of the challenges they currently face,” said Secretary Michael S. Regan of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.
If your community needs improvements, you can still apply for water and wastewater infrastructure grants through April 30. The Division of Water Infrastructure will conduct statewide training sessions at six locations Feb. 19 through Feb. 28 for applicants interested in applying for the next round of funds.
You can view the full training schedule here: https://files.nc.gov/ncdeq/WI/Application_Info/2020-Spring-Training-Announcement-WEBSITE-version.pdf