Feds award $5.1M for water and wastewater upgrades in 4 counties

FILE PHOTOS U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, announced the award of $5.1 million in financing for water and wastewater upgrades.

Write a Comment

By Staff

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded a total of over $5.1 million in financing to improve water and wastewater infrastructure in Penobscot, Oxford, Washington and Aroostook counties.

The USDA’s Water and Waste Disposal Grant Program will fund the following improvements, according to a news release Tuesday from U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine:

Dexter Utility District, of Dexter, a loan of $1,950,000 and a grant of $1,095,000, to upgrade four sewer pump stations and make improvements to the wastewater treatment facility, which serves over 800 households and 100 businesses and public facilities.

Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Reservation, a grant of $2 million to upgrade the sewer main along Passamaquoddy and Ball Field roads, and to address sewage backups into basements along Passamaquoddy Road.

Rumford-Mexico Sewage District, a $30,000 predevelopment planning grant, for a study determining the best options for the current wastewater treatment plant in Mexico.

The town of Island Falls, a $30,000 grant, for a preliminary engineering report determining the feasibility of a public sewer to the town, which currently lacks a wastewater system.

In the past five years, the USDA has invested over $190 million in water and wastewater infrastructure for rural Maine communities, according to the release.