ABINGDON, Va. — The Washington County Service Authority (WCSA) recently received $7.1 million in grant funding from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) Office of Drinking Water for two water line extension projects.
The funding was awarded as two separate grants. A grant of $5.5 million will fund a large water line extension in the Mendota area of Washington County, while a $1.6 million grant will support a water line installation to residences along Mary’s Chapel Road, a portion of Walker Mountain Road and an unserved section of Archery Range Road. Both projects will provide public water service to residents who currently depend on private wells with documented contamination.
The grants were distributed by the VDH as part of $65.1 billion in Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds established by the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The funds may be used for investment in water infrastructure projects that improve access to clean drinking water, including building or upgrading facilities and transmission, distribution and storage systems.
“We are very pleased to receive this grant funding that will enable us to extend public water service to residences in unserved areas of Washington County,” says Robbie Cornett, general manager of WCSA. “We have been trying to obtain needed funding for years for both of these projects, particularly for residents of the Mendota community. These grants will enable us to move forward with completing that project, and allow us to bring clean, reliable drinking water to the Mary’s Chapel and Archery Range Road area for the very first time.”
The Mendota Road Water Line Extension Project will complete the installation of more than 15 miles of water line infrastructure begun nearly 20 years ago, and will deliver service to 82 existing residences along a more than 10-mile section of Mendota Road. It will also allow the entire length of Mendota Road to be served by WCSA’s water system from its Middle Fork Drinking Water Plant. The Mary’s Chapel/Archery Range Road Water Line Project will include 19,000 linear feet of water line and a pump station, and will provide service to 25 existing homes in the project area. Design of the projects are complete and WCSA is accepting bids for each project, with construction expected to begin in the spring of 2022.