Multiple Blue Water communities getting millions to support water infrastructure

Several Blue Water Area municipalities are poised to get a boost in state funding to support large water infrastructure projects — and the biggest of all may be in store for Marine City.

Scott Adkins, Marine City’s manager, told City Commissioners during their Sept. 21 meeting that they’d gotten the “conditional nod” for $26 million worth of support for water main and treatment plant upgrades, scoring toward the top of a list of applicants seeking millions of dollars next year via grants and loans through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund.

Although not yet formally announced by EGLE, the news was widely lauded by commissioners after several years of work to prioritize water and road infrastructure needs without sufficient funds to help.

“The grant pays for 50% of the 26 million and the loan pays the balance,” Adkins said in an interview on Wednesday.

“We’re hoping this project is underway and ready to go in ’24. So, you know, not wasting time and getting the project all put together, bid out, and moving forward because time is going to be a huge issue here,” he said. “And I think those that aren’t ready to go and have a lengthy delay are the ones that are likely to experience significant cost increases.”

According to an EGLE project priority list for next year, the village of Capac similarly scored high as an applicant for its $12.1 million project to address water mains, its treatment facility, meters, wells, and more. Village Manager Travis Youatt couldn’t be immediately reached for comment as of Friday.

It wasn’t clear which other local communities may receive funding. Farther down the list was Port Huron and Ira townships, Marysville, and the city of St. Clair.

St. Clair was formally announced as a recipient of a $2.7 million grant through EGLE’s MI Clean Water program, which utilizes revolving funds. EGLE shared that Sept. 22.

What are St. Clair's water needs?

St. Clair’s project will also address upgrades at the city’s water plant, as well as pump station improvements and water main looping, which involves the construction of roughly 1,400 linear feet of additional water main to remove a dead-end.

Some of that includes the installation of an additional filter, building repairs, and other component replacements.

St. Clair’s water infrastructure needs have been a years-long source of discussion for officials to address increasing capacity needs.

In 2022, a $970,000 federal award was earmarked for upgrades to St. Clair’s shorwell pumping station. At the time, total project needs were estimated at $10 million.

Already, Mayor Bill Cedar said it seemed like city officials have known about the MI Clean Water grant for a while.

And since, he said they've been met with a massive increase in cost.

The $10 million became $11 million or $12 million, he said, and "when the bids went out, it came back at like 19.”

City Council members have already agreed to borrow funds for infrastructure work.

On Wednesday, St. Clair Superintendent Quentin Bishop said there are two separate bonds that’ll be issued, and one will help address the gap when work came back at a higher cost.

Either way, Cedar said they also hoped to get help from other state and federal grants. Bishop said they’ve enough to get started with work underway in 2024. “Weiss Construction is the contractor of hire, and they already received the notice to proceed by EGLE,” Bishop said. “So, we are moving forward. Our first preconstruction meeting is actually early next week.”

The cities of Memphis and Croswell were also expected to get MI Clean Water funds at $873,900 and $10.2 million, respectively.

Croswell Administrator David Tait didn’t reply to a message seeking comment. According to EGLE, that project includes pumping, biological treatment, and disinfection system improvements at the city’s wastewater plant, as well as improvements to five lift stations.

Marine City funds may help with road restoration as part of water main work

Dave DeVlaminck, now a water specialist for FV Operations, said he’s been at Marine City’s water plant for 28 years.

Touring the facility on Thursday, he pointed to several areas — parts of the treatment process, from its intake well all the way through plant filters — that’ll be impacted by EGLE funds.

DeVlaminck said the filters’ anthracite sand and stone will be replaced.

Standing outside at the rear of the plant, referring to its sedimentation basin, he said, “This is where the water is pumped from downstairs. … So, this whole tank here, the cement structure you see, they’re going to line it.”

“What happens out here is we’ve got two big flocculators or mixers, and chemicals are induced here, and it mixes it at certain speeds,” DeVlaminck added. “But the issue is the tank, over the years, we get hairline cracks in it. DPW does go in there and repair it, but we’re looking to get a liner.”

Downstairs, he said he wanted to suggest the project’s upgrades also install variable speed controls on pumps. “We have them on our low-service pumps, but I’d like to see them on our high-service pumps.”

Elsewhere around town, Adkins said they’re also addressing some lead and copper or service line pieces, though the water mains “are the big ticket” item on the EGLE funding.

According to a list from Marine City’s department of public works, over 50 water main lines date back to the 1940s and 1930s.

DPW Superintendent Jeff Schmidt said to reach many of those mains, they hoped to be strategic about which roadways they tear into and restore, or reconstruct, as part of the project.

“What we want to do is tie together the oldest mains and the worst roads, so that we can kind of do it all at once,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll come up with a rating system.”

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Multiple Blue Water communities getting millions to support water infrastructure