Sparta receives $1,072,232 for sewer system rehab project

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation recently announced 102 grants totaling $232,709,981 from the state’s American Rescue Plan fund, part of which TDEC is administering in the form of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure grants. Since August, TDEC has awarded and announced $634,404,544 in grant funds through ARP programming.

City of Sparta is one of the recipients of a portion of these funds. The city will use $1,072,232 in ARP funds to improve critical wastewater infrastructure through a sewer system rehabilitation project, in addition to the development of an Asset Management Plan. Rehabilitation activities will include main line repairs, manhole inspections and repairs, and service line renewals and replacements. Sparta’s sewer system rehabilitation project aims to significantly reduce inflow and infiltration.

 Of the 102 grants announced, 17 are collaborative grants and 85 are non-collaborative grants. Collaborative grants involve multiple entities (cities, counties, or water utilities) partnering on projects to work toward a shared purpose. Sparta’s grant is non-collaborative.

 Tennessee received $3.725 billion from the ARP, and the state’s Financial Stimulus Accountability Group dedicated $1.35 billion of those funds to TDEC to support water projects in communities throughout Tennessee. Of the $1.35 billion, approximately $1 billion was designated for non-competitive formula-based grants offered to counties and eligible cities to address critical systems needs. Those include developing Asset Management Plans, addressing significant non-compliance, updating aging infrastructure, mitigating water loss for drinking water systems, and reducing inflow and infiltration for wastewater systems.

 “We are grateful to the local applicants, and we anticipate excellent results from these grants,” said TDEC Commissioner David Salyers. “This shows that Tennessee recognizes the need for improved water infrastructure, and we are grateful for the leadership of Governor Lee and the General Assembly in seeing that communities get this assistance.”