Alabama is set to receive $1 billion from the feds to fix water systems. It won’t be enough.
However, LeFleur said the number of applications already received shows that not every system will be able to get what it wants.
Up to $100 million will be awarded to systems that may be required to provide local matching funds based on their ability to pay. Those systems link clusters of homes to a community treatment system that work as a hybrid between septic systems and a traditional, but much more expensive, wastewater treatment plant.
First, the department can award grants to extend the existing centralized sewer lines to additional areas where that is cost-effective. Second, it can provide funding to build more of the smaller, hybrid systems if those prove effective. And third, ADEM can work with the Alabama Department of Public Health to find remedies for homes where the first two options are not feasible.
“Over a period of 50 years, these systems are reaching their natural lifespan, and may need to be upgraded or replaced.”