City of New Albin receives portion of State of Iowa water quality grant funding to assist with construction of wastewater treatment plant
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds recently announced that 23 communities in the state of Iowa have been awarded a total of $9 million in grants to advance water quality projects. The funding is made available through the Wastewater and Drinking Water Treatment Financial Assistance Program, which was created as a part of Senate File 512, the first legislation signed into law by Governor Reynolds in January 2018.
Among those grant award distributions was the City of New Albin, which received $500,000 for its new wastewater treatment project that is currently under construction. The innovative and more environmentally conscious Algaewheel treatment system broke ground in May 2022 in New Albin. The $4.3 million project was anticipated to be completed within approximately 18 months of that groundbreaking date, according to project engineers.
“The first bill I signed into law as Governor in 2018 created a long-term funding source to assist communities in upgrading their water infrastructure,” said Gov. Reynolds. “This program has done just that, with a total of more than $18 million in investments leveraging more than $375 million in additional funds invested in critical water quality infrastructure projects across the state.”
The 2022 program received 60 applications requesting more than $24 million in water quality grants. A committee consisting of designees from the Iowa Finance Authority, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship judged the Wastewater and Drinking Water Financial Assistance Program applications based on the program’s priorities.
Priorities for grant awards include: Disadvantaged communities; Projects that will significantly improve water quality in their watershed; Projects that use alternative wastewater treatment technologies; Communities with the highest sewer or water rates; Projects that use technology to address nutrient reduction; and projects to address improvements to drinking water source waters.
The program receives a portion of the tax on metered water and had more than $9 million available for allocation in 2022. Grants will be awarded through the program on an annual basis through 2039.
The Wastewater program has assisted a total of more than 50 communities through a total of nearly $18 million in water quality grants since the first awards were granted in 2019. The program is expected to have approximately $6 million in available funds in 2023 based on the portion of tax that will be allocated to the program.
