Courtesy / Maine.gov
Penobscot Narrows Bridge, looking east toward Verona Island.
October 15, 2021
A Hancock County town is Maine's lone recipient for a USDA program
A USDA effort to modernize rural drinking water systems and wastewater infrastructure will benefit Verona Island in Hancock County.
Verona will receive $1,030,000 in loan and grant funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for wastewater treatment. The town is the only one Maine to receive funding in the recent round of financing.
Verona is on the upper end of Penobscot Bay, at the east end of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge. The island had a population of 544 in the 2010 Census and is nearly 9 square miles.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Thursday the U.S. Department of Agriculture will invest a total of $272 million in water and wastewater systems that serve 270,000 people in 37 states and Puerto Rico.
“This important investment in wastewater infrastructure for the town of Verona Island will upgrade aging components of the system and ensure reliable utilities for the residents who rely on them,” said Tommy R. Higgins, acting director for Maine’s USDA Rural Development program.
The money will improve the wastewater collection system, which dates to 1985. Verona’s total funding includes a loan of $570,000 and a grant of $460,000.
The wastewater project involves replacing the Admiral Peary Lane Pump Station with a wet-well mounted station and for the East Side Drive Pump Station to have its components replaced. The project also includes rehabilitation of some 16 manholes that are contributing excess flows through leaking hinged covers or through deteriorated brick and mortar riser sections, the USDA said.
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