State issues water grants to Lansing area communities, including $6.4 million to Ovid

Dan Basso, Lansing State Journal
·2 min read
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LANSING — The city of Ovid has been awarded more than $6.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act money to help fund an estimated $9.8 million project that will include water line replacements, new meters and other improvements.

The grant through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy was one of six benefiting municipalities in the Lansing area, including Delhi Township, Eaton Rapids, Mason, Grand Ledge and the East Lansing Meridian Water and Sewer Authority, EGLE said in a press release.

Overall, the state provided $81.2 million in MI Clean Water Plan grants through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to communities throughout the state, EGLE said. The largest single grant was $15 million for wastewater treatment plant work on Mackinac Island.

The $6.4 million Ovid grant covers a portion of a project that will replace of 31,500 linear feet of water main, replace lead service lines, install approximately 658 water meters throughout the city, and remove and replace filter media, EGLE said.

Mayor Bill Lasher said work will take place during the 2024 construction season throughout the city. He said the city has a number of "very old" 4-inch water lines that will be replaced as part of the project.

The state funding is a 75% grant, Lasher said, with the city picking up the remaining 25% of the cost.

In addition to the EGLE grant through ARPA, Lasher said, the city accepted a $1.5 million USDA Rural Development loan and council voted to sell bonds to fund the remaining $1.86 million in costs.

According to the city's July meeting packet, officials forecast the city's water system to have 594 customers in 2024.

Since January 2019 the State of Michigan has invested over $4 billion to upgrade drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater facilities across the states, EGLE said in the release.

The EGLE also announced additional grants, including:

Grants through the drinking water fund:

  • City of Grand Ledge for $900,000. The project provides for a new raw water main from Well No. 2 to the iron removal plant and a variable frequency drive installed at Well No. 2.

  • East Lansing Meridian Water and Sewer Authority for $4,015,000. This funding provides for Park Lake and Okemos Road (Phase 2) raw water main installation; a new storage reservoir at the water treatment plant and the purchase of three wells from the Lansing Board of Water & Light.

Grants through the clean water fund:

  • City of Mason for $2.8 million. This funding will go toward wastewater treatment plant improvements.

  • Delhi Charter Township for $382,000. This funding will provide for wastewater treatment plant improvements.

  • City of Eaton Rapids for $2.1 million. This funding provides for a lift station and wastewater treatment plant improvements.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: State issues water grants to Lansing area communities, including $6.4 million to Ovid