The Board of Directors of the state Environmental Facilities Corp. today approved a $2 million grant, along with $1,272,000 in interest-free financing, for major improvements to the water district serving the towns of New Berlin, Butternuts and Morris.
The South New Berlin Water District project will replace a contaminated well, replace a storage tank (a 115-year-old stone reservoir) with a concrete tank, install a new greens and filtration system to remove iron and manganese and upgrade aged, undersized water mains. The $3.27 million project will also extend service to consolidate two small public water systems, the Grand Slam Campground and the Barr-Y Apartment complex, and to six residences with insufficient yielding or poor quality private wells.
“Gov. Andrew Cuomo and EFC are pleased to help the towns served by the South New Berlin Water District,” EFC President and CEO Matthew J. Driscoll said following the unanimous vote. “Through New York state’s revolving fund, EFC is helping communities afford vital improvements to their aging water systems.”
“This project addresses a vital local need for clean and safe drinking water and will provide long-term benefits to the community,” State Health Commissioner Nirav R. Shah said.
Working with the state Department of Health, EFC manages both the Clean Water and Drinking Water state revolving funds, which together have provided more than $15 billion in low-cost financing and grants for projects that protect water quality and safe drinking water. The Department of Health, in cooperation with county health departments, regulates the operation, design and quality of public water supplies and, among other responsibilities, sets standards for constructing individual water supplies and individual septic systems.
The short-term loan approved today is expected to be converted into an interest-free, 30-year loan sometime in 2014. Construction on the project is expected to begin next spring.
