SUD Pursues $500K in ARP Funds
“An 80 percent-20 percent grant is about the best you can get,” said SUD Manager Ben Beavers at the March 15 Sewanee Utility District Board of Commissioners meeting, commenting on the opportunity to pursue American Rescue Plan (ARP) matching-grant funds for water projects. SUD would pay only 20 percent of the cost. Beavers outlined five potential projects, with a total price tag of more than $500,000, with SUD’s cost just slightly over $100,000. Beavers expressed confidence SUD’s finances would enable SUD “to make the match.”
In a letter explaining the program, Franklin County Mayor David Alexander said, “Franklin County has $3,738,000 available from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) for Water Projects. Match-wise, Franklin County is in the 60/40 category—60 percent State/40 percent County…The County is looking for partners to split that 40 percent match with, our requirement being that the Utility providers part would be 20 percent.”
Beavers proposed the following projects. One, reimbursement to SUD for a $25,000 upgrade to the SCADA system at the water plant to heighten cyber security. Beavers noted ARP funding allowed reimbursement for recent projects. Two, $150,000 to upgrade the 12-year-old membrane filtration module at the water plant. Beavers said the membrane filters were two years past recommended replacement date, although the “performance” was still good. Three, $130,000 to replace the 35-year-old bar screen at the main sewer pumping station. Not only was the screen “worn out,” Beavers said, but the mesh size allowed passage of disposable wipes and face masks, which clogged and damaged pumps and caused a health hazard for employees tasked with repair. Four, $200,000 for the location and replacement of lead service lines. In the next six years, the EPA would require SUD to identify all lead service lines, Beavers said. He projected replacing the entire 28,500 feet of service lines suspected to have lead connections would cost $2.5 million. “The whole town would be dug up,” Beavers said. Five, $25,000 to upgrade the water plant high-service pump electrical controls in order to synchronize the pump speed with the output of the filters. The energy savings would more than pay for the upgrade in the long run, Beavers said.
“I think we can get [the Franklin County Commission] to approve this,” said SUD Commissioner Johnny Hughes, who also serves as a County Commissioner. Huntland had already been allocated more than $1 million, Hughes noted.
Beavers suggested considering increasing the amount for identifying and replacing lead service lines to include purchase of a hydro excavator to allow for less destructive and more accurate excavation of soil to locate lines. SUD President Charlie Smith suggested increasing the amount for the bar screen to include installation.
Beavers will revise his cost estimates and plans to present the proposal at the April Franklin County Finance Committee meeting.