After receiving an $11 million grant and a zero-interest loan, the Mohawk Valley Water Authority (MWA) is working towards the removal of lead service lines in its system.
The money was awarded by the NYS Department of Health through the federal Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act for up to $7,711,550 in grant dollars and $3,304,950 in interest-free financing.
MVWA has previously received over $15 million dollars in grants to identify and replace lead service lines in addition to this award. Current EPA rules require all lead service lines be removed from public water systems by 2037.
The total estimated cost to remove all lead lines from the MVWA system is $60 to 70 million dollars.
“We are very appreciative of this award and thank our local elected officials and community partners for supporting this initiative,” said MVWA Executive Director Philip Tangorra said in a statement.
“These dollars will greatly reduce the burden on our ratepayers who ultimately must absorb the cost to remove the lead service lines. We will continue to seek additional financial support to minimize the impact of this requirement on MVWA and its customers.”
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Mohawk Valley Water Authority gets $11M grant for lead lines
Reporting by Casey Pritchard, Utica Observer Dispatch / Observer-Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Casey Pritchard, Utica Observer Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
