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Delaware awarded $7.8 million EPA grant to support drinking water programs

Release Date: 10/30/2002
Contact Information: Roy Seneca 215-814-5567

Contact: Roy Seneca 215-814-5567
PHILADELPHIA - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $7.8 million to Delaware Health and Social Services to improve drinking water systems and protect drinking water supplies. The state will contribute $1.5 million in matching funds.

“Our country has one of the best supplies of safe, clean drinking water in the world. This grant is an important step in keeping the Delaware drinking water supply healthy,” said Donald S. Welsh, regional administrator for EPA’s mid-Atlantic region.

About $5.7 million of the funding will be used to provide low interest loans that communities can use to improve drinking water systems with projects that could include upgrading treatment plants, replacing storage tanks, consolidating inadequate facilities, replacing distribution lines, improving pumping stations, and constructing wells and transmission mains.

Additionally, Delaware Health and Social Services will use about $2.1 million of the funding to manage the loan program; to provide technical assistance to small water systems; to expand operator training and for certification programs; to protect drinking water supplies from contamination; and to ensure that drinking water systems remain viable.

The EPA grant is from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund authorized by 1996
amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act. The program emphasizes preventing contamination through source water protection and enhanced water systems management. The fund helps to ensure that public drinking water supplies remain safe and affordable, and that drinking water systems are properly operated and maintained. As communities repay their loans, the funds are available for new projects in Delaware.