The City of San Juan Bautista has received notice to submit a
final application to the U.S. Economic Development Administra-tion
for a $3.8-million grant to improve the city’s water quality.
”
We’ve been working to get to this point for over two and a half
years,
”
City Manager Larry Cain said.
”
While the funding process is not yet concluded, we are certainly
in the final stages and are very optimistic that we will be
successful.
”
The City of San Juan Bautista has received notice to submit a final application to the U.S. Economic Development Administra-tion for a $3.8-million grant to improve the city’s water quality.
“We’ve been working to get to this point for over two and a half years,” City Manager Larry Cain said. “While the funding process is not yet concluded, we are certainly in the final stages and are very optimistic that we will be successful.”
The grant will be used to build a new water storage facility and install new water transmission lines, as well as addressing water treatment and fire suppression issues, Cain said.
“It will improve the water quality and meet the discharge requirements from the Regional Water Quality Control Board,” he said.
City officials have completed 95 percent of the engineering work that needs to be accomplished before the grant can be put to use, Cain said.
The majority of the work will be conducted on 4th Street, where most of the pipes will be installed. If everything goes according to schedule, the renovations will begin sometime next spring, Cain said.
“This is a major expenditure for such a small city,” he said. “We couldn’t do it without the support from the San Benito County Water District.”
The construction will run through several of the main roads through the Mission City, which will help with flooding caused by old supply lines and dilapidated roads that need to be repaired, City Councilman Arturo Medina said.
“This is a huge project the city has been waiting for for a long time,” Medina said. “I think it’s great we’ve made it this far. Hopefully, we won’t find any obstacles in the way.”
City officials have submitted a preliminary application and underwent preliminary screening for the grant. The funding is part of a combined $7.9-million infrastructure improvement program that has been pursued as a joint project between the city and the San Benito County Water District, according to the city.
As part of the package, the county water district has committed $3.1 million to the project.
Final approval for the grant should come sometime in October, and will be included in next year’s budget, Cain said.
“It probably won’t be finalized until January of next year,” he said.
Although the awarding of the grant will put the city under construction for some time, it is something the people have been asking for for years, Medina said.
“This is a huge project the city has been waiting for,” he said. “The people will be all for it.”
