Two rural water district upgrades get $11.2M in federal funding

Two rural Maine projects to upgrade local water and wastewater infrastructure will share more than $11 million in federal funding announced on Thursday.

A total of $11.27 million in low-interest loans and grants has been awarded to the two projects through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Water and Waste Disposal Program.

The program provides funding for clean and reliable drinking water systems, sanitary sewage disposal, sanitary solid waste disposal, and storm water drainage to households and businesses in eligible rural areas.

Funding includes a $6 million loan and a $3.4 million grant to the Anson and Madison Water District, to replace 27,000 linear feet of transmission water mains.

The mains are old, unlined cast-iron pipe with leaded joints and significant vulnerability, according to a news release. The replacement of the leaded joints will help address a health and sanitary issue for the district. The goal is to significantly improve the reliability of the system, which provides domestic water and fire protection for the community.

In addition, the Paris Utility District will receive a $1.33 million loan and a $443,000 grant to replace a 100-year-old storage tank with a new one made from pre-stressed concrete.

The new tank will have a capacity of 500,000 gallons. Site improvements will include an upgraded access road. The replacement aims to benefit the district and its customers while improving water quality in the system, Maine's two U.S. senators said in the release.

“Maintaining and upgrading water and wastewater systems is vital to ensuring the economic and environmental health of our communities,” said Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Susan Collins, R-Maine.

“We welcome these important infrastructure investments in rural Maine, which will help ensure that Mainers continue to have access to clean, safe water while creating and retaining jobs.”