(1/15) The Town Council approved the Town staff’s recommend that the second tranche of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, $1,576,610, received by the town in August of 2022 be spent on water infrastructure improvement projects.

Among other things, ARAP money can be used for investing in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure projects. The Federal government launched ARPA in 2021 to help municipalities overcome financial challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Municipalities have until the end of 2024 to obligate the money and spend it by the end of 2026. If the funds are not obligated or spent, the money must be returned to the Federal Government.

Once all the payments are completed the town will have received a total of $3,152,038, according to the Town Manager, Cathy WiIlets.

The first payment of $1,575,429 was received in July of 2021 and used to install a new water clarifier and fund the replacement for the Creamery Road sewer pump station. The sewer pump was paced at the top of the town priority as it was 55 years old and was difficult to maintain due to inability to get replacement parts. The town hopes to bid the work out by summer and begin work on its actual replacement soon after.

The water clarifier made the list as Rainbow Lake, Emmitsburg’s principle source of fresh water, experiences large amounts of algae in the summer. Clarifiers are designed to remove the vast majority of the algae and particulates in water before the water reaches the water treatment plant.

The estimated cost for the pump station was $3,657,000 and the water clarifier $2,360,000. To pay for the new pump station, the town received a loan from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for $1,987,000. In addition, the USDA provided additional grants totaling $863,000, leaving the town with a budget shortfall of $807,000 for the pump station. Unfortunately, due to circumstances out of the Town’s control, the new estimate for the pump station is approximately one million more than the original estimate. Staff is working with USDA to secure additional funding.

To help pay for the water clarifier, the town received a $1 million grant from the State of Maryland, leaving a project budget shortfall of $1,360,000 for the water clarifier. To complete the two projects the town needed to find a total of $2,167,000 more in funding. The answer came in the 1st round of funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.

The town staff hopes to repeat their success by suggesting the second tranche of ARPA fund by allocated to covering any shortfall in funds from grants associated with the replacement of the 10-inch water line from rainbow lake, the replacement of the North Seton water line, and the cost of the replacement of the DePaul water line. The replacement of the North Seton Ave. waterline is estimated at $1.2 million and the DePaul St. waterline is $1.1 million

Willets told the Town Council the town has already applied for grants to help defray the cost of the replacement of the North Seton and DePaul water lines, and intends to apply for a grant to replace the 10-inch pipe water line from Rainbow Lake with a 16-inch pipe.

The necessity of replacing the DePaul Street and North Seton waterlines stemmed from numerous reports being received from drinking-water were complaining of a persistent brown colorization of their tap water. DePaul Street and North Seton Waterlines are made of the old ductile iron pipe that is prone to tuberculation which is a known source of discolored water.

Town Staff recommended that the 10-inch water line from Rainbow Lake be replaced with a 16-inch because the 10-inch line is not big enough for the town, and the town is not meeting fire flow capability. Initial estimates for the replacement of the line is $10 million.