CCWD Awarded State Grant For Nearly $5 Million
Calaveras County, CA – The Calaveras County Water District (CCWD) is receiving a nearly $5 million state grant and district officials say a rate hike passed two years ago helped them acquire it.
While CCWD’s grant proposal was drafted over several years that hard work paid off with a $4.75 million grant awarded from the State Water Resources Control Board. The funds will be used to consolidate its West Point and Wilseyville wastewater treatment plants. District officials relay both facilities need upgrades and this construction project will “ensure reliable wastewater treatment in those communities for decades to come.”
The grant is welcome news as currently, the district is in the midst of a five-year rate hike plan passed in 2018 to cover rising operational costs. CCWD explains the increased rate revenues actually allowed the district to meet the state’s financial review requirements, making it eligible for this grant and possibly more in the future.
“We do everything we can to minimize costs, but with increasing regulatory compliance burdens along with aging infrastructure, sometimes it just doesn’t add up and difficult decisions have to be made,” said CCWD General Manager, Michael Minkler. “In this case, one of the direct benefits of the recent rate increase will be a major infrastructure project that does not burden our ratepayers.”
That is because the grant covers the entire cost of the project. Planning and design work will begin this year with construction expected to follow in 2021. Further information on the project can be found by clicking here and viewing item 4c.
