Water Sector News
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ADEM awards $348 million to water and sewer systems
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management announced that it has awarded $348 million in grants and loans to repair and upgrade crumbling, malfunctioning and overwhelmed water and sewer systems in Alabama, benefiting residents in nearly three-quarters of the state’s counties – with more funding to be announced in coming months.
The $348 million include more than $77 million in grants approved for communities in Alabama’s Black Belt, where the combination of nonpermeable soil, low population density and low incomes creates special challenges. Those grants do not have to be repaid, and in most cases in the Black Belt do not require local matching money. In addition, ADEM has set aside another $45 million for Black Belt projects, which will bring its investment there to $122 million.
Many of the public water and sewer systems in Alabama — large and small; rural, urban and suburban — have significant repair and upgrade needs. Some residents also lack adequate water or sewer service, adversely affecting their health and quality of life. The loans and grants announced by ADEM are designed to address those problems.