HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Federal money for COVID-19 relief and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act may soon make an impact in helping improve drinking water and wastewater systems in Alabama.
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management is asking the state’s 1,100 water and wastewaster systems to submit projects for funding through the federal disbursements to Alabama.
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The Alabama Legislature has appropriated $225 million out of American Rescue Act funds for water and sewer project and the infrastructure bill is to provide $765 million – over five years for the same purpose, ADEM Executive Director Lance LeFleur told News 19 Tuesday.
LeFleur said there is an April 1 deadline for water-wastewater systems to apply and the agency wants communities to seek funding. ADEM estimates 37 percent of systems in the state have applied for funds.
ADEM records show, so far, there are 265 drinking water project-funding requests, totaling $1.347 billion. Wastewater requests include — 186 projects, totaling $1.379 billion, records show.
LeFleur said the money, about $1 billion overall, can make a significant difference in the lives of possibly a million Alabama residents or more.
And, the scale of need is clear.
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“When the Clean Water Act was passed into law in the 1970s, I think it was 1970,” LeFleur said. “A lot of funding became available to build out the infrastructure associated with clean water, clean drinking water and proper treatment of wastewater. Those investments were made 50 years ago, over time those systems have reached their lifespan.”
ADEM says the Alabama Legislature directed that $120 million will be awarded to public water and sewer systems that have emergency or high needs projects.
“Grants will be awarded on a ranking system that gives special consideration to projects that improve access to water or sewer services in communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19 or that lack local funding to complete the projects on their own. No local match funding is required for these projects,” ADEM said in a news release.
The legislature also directed that $100 million “in grants will be awarded to public water and sewer systems that may require local matching funds based on their ability to pay. These projects will be based on need as well – both system infrastructure need and financial need,” ADEM said.
And, $5 million will be directed “for demonstration sewer projects in the Black Belt. These projects will target problems such as soil conditions that prevent wastewater from septic systems from being absorbed into the ground, failing sewer or septic systems, the use of ‘straight pipes’ in the absence of a functioning septic system or sewer service, and other issues related to poor, sparsely populated, rural areas of the Black Belt,” ADEM said.
Requests include:
- The City of Madison is seeking $26 million for water system improvements;
- The City of Decatur is asking for $62 million for its wastewater system, which deals with regular overflows;
- The City of Moulton is seeking $20 million for water system improvements.
The full list of project requests can be found here.
There will be about $1 billion available, which is considerable, but the current requests exceed even that figure.
LeFleur said money for projects will start getting released by June 1.
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