Utility district targets disinfection issue
MARS HILL, Maine — The Mars Hill Utility District is seeking assistance from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program as well as other federal and state funding sources to address an issue with disinfection-by-products associated with the public drinking water supply.
According to Superintendent Robert Lento, the district is currently under a consent order from the State Drinking Water Program to resolve this issue. Staff are currently examining all sources of funding necessary to complete this project in the most cost-effective manner as possible so that user fees are kept at a minimum.
“For this reason, we are asking the water users to fill in and return a survey that will be circulated by the Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC) no later than by Friday, Jan. 6, 2017,” Lento said.
“The purpose of the survey is to demonstrate to the funding agencies that the users are not able to finance such a costly project on its own and are requesting the assistance of the CDBG, and other, programs,” he said.
Lento added without CDBG assistance, the district would need to borrow approximately $1 million, which would result in increasing user fees by 10-12 percent to repay the loan. It is therefore extremely important that the survey be completed and returned in a timely fashion.
“The survey will be used strictly for the purposes of submitting grant applications,” he said. “We thank you for your support and appreciate your cooperation in getting the surveys returned by the requested deadline.”
