Thanks to federal pandemic relief money, the borough will be able to improve the reliability of the community’s water supply. At its March 28 meeting, the borough assembly allocated the final round of these funds — nearly $1.5 million total — to the reservoir bypass project.
Right now, the borough has a direct connection from the lower reservoir to the water treatment plant, but not from the upper reservoir to the plant. This setup forces the Public Works Department to siphon water from the upper to the lower reservoir.
The bypass project will create a direct connection between the upper reservoir and the plant, making it easier to do maintenance work on the lower reservoir and improving the reliability of the borough’s water supply. The bypass is among the borough’s top priority projects for the coming year.
The borough had received a $2.08 million federal grant for the project in 2022, intended to cover 80% of the total cost. Since then, the price tag increased from $2.6 million to $3.3 million, leaving the borough short of funds.
Thanks to the recent influx of pandemic aid, the borough should be able to move to the construction phase in 2023. “This resolution approves nearly $1.5 million to make up the shortfall in funding that we need to move the reservoir bypass project forward,” said Capital Facilities Director Amber Al-Haddad.
The design phase of the project is almost complete and an updated cost estimate from the project engineers is on its way.
The money will come to Wrangell through two different funds in a series of payments. The Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund provided $242,992 and the Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund will provide a total of $1.2 million spread across two equal payments — one in 2023 and another in 2024.
Wrangell was initially excluded from the final round of federal aid, which was announced last September. Of the $27 million that were allocated to Alaska communities through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Petersburg received $1 million and Haines received $621,000, but Wrangell — along with a few other municipalities —was not on the list.
Working alongside the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties and local governments, the Alaska Municipal League advocated to change the way the pandemic funds were allocated in Alaska. Congress changed the law last December and the president approved the provision allowing Wrangell and the other previously excluded communities to access the money.
This last round of aid has fewer strings attached than previous rounds, which were intended control the pandemic’s spread and impact. The money can be used for “any governmental purpose” except lobbying.
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