WINTER HARBOR, Maine — The local water and sewage district will be flush with millions of federal dollars to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant so that ‘flushable’ wipes won’t clog up the facility’s pumps, among other improvements.
The Winter Harbor Utilities District is getting $4.6 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the upgrade to the plant, which is more than 40 years old, officials indicated this week. The plant is located off Main Street on Meadow Lane and discharges treated wastewater into nearby Henry Cove.
Peter Drinkwater, chairman of the district’s board, said Friday that the treatment plant is “really old.” He said the project will include extensive upgrades, including the installation of a new furnace in a new building and the addition of a large screen to prevent “flushable” wipes and other similar items from getting sucked into the facility’s pumps.
“We have to take pumps apart every day and tear these [wipes] out of them,” Drinkwater said.
Half of the money, $2.3 million, will be in the form of a grant, and the other half will be provided in a low-interest loan. The $4.6 million total represents nearly $9,000 for every year-round resident in Winter Harbor, which in the 2010 census was estimated to have a population of 516 people.
The funds are among $11 million being awarded by USDA to projects in six Maine municipalities, USDA officials announced Thursday in a prepared statement.
The city of Eastport also is getting a big chunk of change — $4 million — that will fund a major upgrade to its wastewater treatment plant. Information about whether “flushable” wipes have been causing similar problems at that facility was unavailable Friday afternoon.
Other funding awards include:
— $1.35 million to Fish River Rural Health for a new medical facility in Fort Kent.
— $700,000 to build an addition on Kennebec Montessori School in Fairfield.
— $300,000 for sewer system upgrades for the Waldoboro Utility District.
— $170,000 for Penquis Mental Health Association in Dover-Foxcroft to buy an existing residential facility.
