INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 6, 2020) – Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs today announced 24 rural Hoosier communities will receive more than $15.3 million in federal grant funding to improve water infrastructure.
“By investing in our state’s water infrastructure, we are laying the foundation for regional growth and prosperity,” said Lt. Gov. Crouch. “These grants are supporting projects that are crucial to rural communities’ continual economic development and improving the quality of life for its residents.”
The State of Indiana distributes Community Development Block Grant funds to rural communities, which assist units of local government with various community projects such as: infrastructure improvement, downtown revitalization, public facilities and economic development.
“The leadership of these grant recipients embodies strategic planning, hard work and dedication to improving their communities,” said Matt Crouch, Interim Executive Director of OCRA. “Proper planning is necessary to ensure Hoosier’s quality of life can grow as we are coping through a pandemic.”
The second round of the 2020 CDBG program begins on August 24, 2020, with proposals due on September 24 and final applications due November 20. Additionally, the suspension of the Blight Clearance Program, Main Street Revitalization Program and Public Facilities Program will continue. Therefore, only Wastewater/Drinking Water and Stormwater Improvement Program applications will be accepted for round two.
Funding for OCRA’s CDBG programs originates from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant program and is administered for the State of Indiana by OCRA. For more information, visit www.in.gov/ocra/cdbg.htm.
The Stormwater Improvement Program strives to reduce flooding, to cut stormwater treatment and energy costs, to protect rivers, lakes and vital landscape and generate jobs to spur economic revitalization. Types of activities that are eligible for this grant funding include stormwater improvements, as well as demolition and/or clearance. The following communities are the beneficiaries of this program:
Brown County is awarded $600,000 for flood drainage improvements. This project will aid the Town of Helmsburg by replacing old storm sewers along Helmsburg Road, Main Street and First Street with new piping. Storm sewers along the eastern portion of North Street will also be extended along with drainage ditch improvements in several areas. Finally, new street inlets will be installed in areas where none exist.
The City of Shelbyville is awarded $600,000 for flood drainage improvements. This project will construct a relief sewer for the undersized storm sewer main running through the City. This will help to reduce flooding and surcharge that happens in short, heavy rain events, as well as help reduce residential and street flooding.
The Town of Coatesville is awarded $600,000 for flood drainage improvements. This project will assist in correcting widespread flooding in the town, improving water quality within the resident’s water wells, alleviating property damage and removing safety hazards due to failing ditches and culverts.
The Town of Knightsville is awarded $600,000 for flood drainage improvements. This project will add more than 1,400 linear feet of stormwater piping to the current system, including increasing the capacity of the pipes with new 15-inch and 48-inch piping. Additionally, roughly 1,600 lineal feet of drainage related structures will be installed to help increase the drainage capacity of the current system.
The Town of Oaktown is awarded $600,000 for flood drainage improvements. This project will increase the size of three storm drainage infrastructures within the Town, extends two existing storm sewers and adds one new storm sewer in an area that currently has no drainage infrastructure
The goals of the Wastewater/Drinking Water Program are to protect the health and environment, reduce utility rates for low-to-moderate income communities and improve rural infrastructure to enable long-term economic growth. Eligible Wastewater/Drinking Water Program projects include many aspects of wastewater improvements and drinking water system improvements.
The Town of Bloomfield is awarded $700,000 for improvements to the wastewater collection system and treatment plant. Twenty-five manholes will be coated with a new lining application to address excessive infiltration, and approximately 1,900 feet of gravity sewer will be replaced. Improvements to the wastewater treatment plant will consist of building a lab/chemical feed building and clarifier improvements, among others.
The Town of Chrisney is awarded $700,000 for water supply and distribution improvements. This project will install a new disinfectant residual analyzer at the master meter and new upsized water lines on the west side of the system. Additionally, eight hydrants will be replaced throughout the system, the elevated tank will be refurbished and the water utility laboratory building will be renovated.
The City of Connersville is awarded $700,000 for improvements to the City’s water system. This project will address a general lack of water pressure being experienced in the City and reduce the number of line breaks.
Crawford County is awarded $600,000 to construct a new water tank to supply customers served by the Patoka Water Company. The new tank will be built adjacent to the existing tank site, hold approximately 100,000-gallons of water and stand approximately 110 feet tall.
The Town of Crothersville is awarded $700,000 for water and sewer improvements. This project will build a new wet weather overflow main, install an in-line hydrodynamic stormwater separator, construct a duplex wet weather pumping station and force main, modify existing plant surge basins with concrete wall cores and many other key improvements.
The City of Delphi is awarded $596,233 for water and sewer improvements. This project will reconnect 56 services, replace various lengths of two-inch galvanized piping and add eight new hydrants to six different service areas.
The Town of Fountain City is awarded $700,000 for water and sewer improvements. This project will replace all the existing cast iron water lines with new PVC lines and replace all the associated water infrastructure.
The Town of Galveston is awarded $600,000 for water and sewer improvements. This project will improve water pressure, flows and fire protection throughout the service area. The Town will replace more than 3,900 linear feet of eight-inch water mains and more than 2,500 linear feet of six-inch water mains.
The Town of Goodland is awarded $600,000 for water and sewer improvements. This project will replace 3,200 lineal feet of failing water lines and install nine new fire hydrants.
The Town of La Crosse is awarded $700,000 for water and sewer improvements. This project will build a new water treatment plant, construct a distribution system, and install new customer meters.
The Town of Ladoga is awarded $600,000 for water and sewer improvements. This project will install a wastewater collection pipe and disconnect two newly discovered non-wastewater sources. Additional improvements include rehabbing a secondary clarifier sludge line and adding an influent flow meter at the wastewater treatment plant.
Lawrence County is awarded $600,000 for water and sewer improvements. This project will construct a new wastewater treatment plant and build an activated sludge wastewater treatment system. Additionally, the plant will replace the existing 1970s steel tank.
The Town of Lewisville is awarded $700,000 for water and sewer improvements. This project will build a new water treatment facility, eliminate dead ends within the system and replace several water meters. This will improve water quality, pressure, fire flows, reduce regular maintenance and allow for efficient water use.
The City of Monticello is awarded $600,000 for water and sewer improvements. This project will upgrade 4,000 lineal feet of four-inch and six-inch water mains, replace seven fire hydrants, and add eight new six-inch water valves.
The Town of Morgantown is awarded $700,000 for water and sewer improvements. This project will improve the wastewater system treatment, add new gravity sanitary sewers, rehab existing manholes and upgrade the sanitary sewer system. Additionally, the lift stations will be replaced.
Ripley County is awarded $550,000 for water and sewer improvements. This project will install a chlorine disinfection system at the wastewater treatment plant, install an updated contact tank and construct a chemical building to house the feed pumps and storage tanks. Additionally, plant electrical improvements will be installed to include lagoon alarms and upgrading the plant’s electrical system to accommodate chlorine disinfection.
The Town of Universal is awarded $550,000 for water and sewer improvements. This project will install a raw water well, build standby power for all wells and the wastewater treatment plant and replace the iron filter package treatment unit. Furthermore, twenty hydrants will be replaced along with the installation of a booster pump station.
The Town of Vevay is awarded $700,000 for water and sewer improvements. This project will rehabilitate the lift stations at the high school, the library and Ohio Street, as a well upgrade the wastewater treatment plant.
The Town of Warren is awarded $700,000 to build a new water tower and to demolish the old tower. Additionally, the Town will rehabilitate an additional water tower, build a new well house and convert a submersible pump into a vertical turbine pump.
SOURCE: News release from Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs