Greenville receives Ohio BUILDS Water Infrastructure Grant

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By Tammy Watts
DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announced an Ohio BUILDS Water Infrastructure Grant award of $1.4 million for the City of Greenville at the Greenville City Building’s Council Chambers on Dec. 9.

The Ohio BUILDS water infrastructure grant program was approved by the Ohio General Assembly as part of House Bill 168, with funding that was appropriated through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA.)

The $1.4 million grant awarded to Greenville is part of $250 million that is being used for 183 water infrastructure projects across Ohio, in all 88 counties.

In order to be considered for one of the grants, local governments had to submit an application through the Ohio Department of Development.

“Grants were awarded based on financial need, geographic disbursement — we wanted to make sure every county in Ohio received at least one, with a primary focus on underserved and rural areas — as well as readiness to move on the project once the money was in place,” stated Husted.

“It was not expected,” said Greenville Safety/Service Director Ryan Delk. “When we first started talking about raising water rates, we didn’t have the funds to kick it off, so we would have to do low-interest loans or wait to save the money to get it. We’ve applied for many grants.”

Greenville’s $1.4 million grant will be used for new transmission water mains on the south side of town, replacing the original infrastructure installed in 1893.

“Yes, that was when Grover Cleveland was president,” Husted emphasized.

Currently, many of the cast iron mains run through private property, making them difficult to maintain. In 2019, there was a major water line break, resulting in a boil water advisory for Greenville, including the City Building.

According to Delk, the total project estimate is slightly less than $1.9 million, so the $1.4 million grant from the state covers a significant portion of that cost, and the city has also received a second grant towards the project.

“We’ve received this one this week, and we’ve also received a lead-line grant which is about $900,000 to replace the lines, plus principal forgiveness through the Ohio EPA as well, so we’re looking at about $2.3 million total to work with,” Delk stated. He added that, in the short-term, this will have no bearing on recently enacted rate increases on water and sewer services to Greenville residents.

Daily Advocate Reporter Tammy Watts can be reached at [email protected].

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