EAGLE LAKE, Maine – Eagle Lake recently received an additional $750,000 grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission to upgrade its sewer system. The NBRC awarded the town $250,000 for the same project earlier this year, bringing the total amount up to $1 million.
The project will ensure that Eagle Lake’s sewer system is compliant with existing regulations and help prevent system failure.
The town also received $1 million via the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan last year.
“The goal is to raise as much as we can so there is less of a burden on the residents,” said Eagle Lake Town Manager John Sutherland. “Most of the residents in the water district are low to moderate income, so it’s important for us to go after these grants whenever they’re available.”
Eagle Lake Water and Sewer District Superintendent Gerry Raymond said the district is pleased to receive the additional funding.
Raymond said the entire project is estimated to cost roughly $6.5 million, however the final cost will not be known until the design is complete and the project goes out to bid.
“The system is 40 years old,” Raymond said. “And we’re upgrading our lagoon systems by replacing the aging liners that are used to hold the water in our lagoon, so there’s no seepage in the groundwater.”
Raymond said the project also includes working on the aeration system in the lagoons, which will help with the water treatment process. It also includes installing a generator system and upgrading four sewage pumping stations.
In addition, the work includes adding a building on site to take care of removing solids from wastewater coming up to the treatment plant.
“Right now we have no solids removal,” Raymond said, “which is causing a lot of solids in our lagoons, which is also causing problems with our aeration system and plugging everything up.”
Raymond said the design is nearly finished, and that he is hopeful that the project could go out to bid in early winter, with construction beginning in May of next year. It is a two-year project.
“It’s a big project for our community and the grant funds we’ve been able to secure are definitely going to help our residents,” Sutherland said.
