Federal stimulus money is going to help boost North Coast water systems.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski announced that the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department awarded federal recovery funds to 18 Oregon community water systems totaling $27.8 million to help construct and improve drinking water systems across the state.

“These funds will help communities across the state provide clean and safe drinking water while also creating more than 500 construction jobs for Oregonians,” Kulongoski said. “These dollars will deliver projects from Warrenton to Elgin and Fern Valley to Portland to improve the public health of thousands of Oregonians while also investing in these local economies.”

City of Warrenton gets $5.5 millionThe city of Warrenton will receive American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding to construct a new 3.5 million gallon covered water tank on Clatsop Plains that will replace its current 1.6-million gallon reservoir. City Manager Bob Maxfield said the stimulus package will consist of a $2.69 million loan at 3 percent interest, plus a grant for the balance of the $5.5 million reservoir project.

Maxfield explained that the present 1.6 gallon open reservoir loses about 200,000 gallons a day because it has to be flushed daily to keep chlorine at the recommended level.

“We’re really excited to replace our reservoir with one that has double the capacity at 50 percent of the cost,” Maxfield said. “We’re pleased. This will help us keep water rates low.”

Wickiup Water District $2.2 millionSigne Warner, the business manager for Wickiup Water District, said the district has been approved for a loan through the ARRA, Safe Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund. The funds are for the Reservoir & Koppisch Road Project to provide for the construction of a new water storage reservoir facility along with replacement of more than 12,000 lineal feet of undersized distribution lines, according to the governor’s announcement.

Fifty percent of the low-interest loan (3 percent) is forgivable, Warner said.

The community rejected a bond measure to help pay for water projects in the district Tuesday. And there is turmoil on the water district’s board. All but one of the directors were voted out Tuesday. New directors will take their seats in July.

The newly elected Position 3 director for Wickiup Water District, Debbie Pike, said this morning – now that the community has been awarded stimulus money – when the new directors take office in July they will have to “regroup, be deliberate and think.”

“I definitely think the community has spoken,” she said. “The community wants some changes and wants to go in a different direction.”

Warner said, “Some of (the new directors) are willing to forego the free money. I just don’t understand that. This is a one-time deal. It’s going to cost a lot more later on.”

Other Clatsop and Tillamook County projects receiving awards include:Falcon Cove Beach Water District $250,000 -Water StorageTank Project: Funding will allow district to meet critical water storage needs by construction a new concrete water storage tank that will augment its existing water storage capacity, and to install an emergency generator that will allow for pumping of source water during events of power grid failure.

Arch Cape Water District $1.2 million -Water Treatment Plant Upgrade and Distribution System Improvements: Project funding will allow the district to replace its existing pressure filter water treatment system with membrane filtration and UV disinfection in order to meet Safe Drinking Water Act standards and to replace more than 4,200 lineal feet of old leaking pipe.

City of Rockaway Beach $2.4 million – Jetty Creek Water Treatment Plant Improvements: Construct a new water treatment plant to replace the existing plant that no longer is able to provide drinking water that meets today’s more stringent health standards. The project also will allow the city to replace several older pumps with new water and energy high efficiency pumps.

The federal recovery dollars are part of $2 billion awarded nationwide by Environmental Protection Agency to fund drinking water infrastructure projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) sets the standards for the drinking water system improvements and determines eligible projects, while OECDD works with applicants across the state to develop financing packages and manage the Safe Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund.