PARKER — The cities of Springfield and Parker each will receive a piece of an $8 million grant announced by the Northwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board to fund water supply projects across the region.
The district announced Thursday that it will fund 26 water supply development projects, part of the second cycle of a competitive grant program designed to address challenges for local governments and nonprofit utilities.
“An important part of the district’s mission is ensuring a safe and reliable supply of water for the people of this region,” said George Roberts, chairman of the district’s governing board. “This grant program allows the district to play an active part in contributing to the health and well-being of our communities by addressing regional water resource and supply development needs.”
In Springfield, those needs include replacing about 6,300 feet of deteriorating water lines. The city will receive $499,192 from the district to fund the project, which will improve system reliability and reduce the estimated 25 percent water loss caused by the aging lines.
For Parker, the grant announcement came just weeks after a line break left much of the city without water.
The $278,500 grant will go toward replacing 30 broken gate valves, which forced utility workers to turn off the main water valve during the last break. The valve repairs will allow for isolation during water breaks and contamination events, and help improve public health and safety, according to the Water Management District.
“If they’re working, we can isolate the shut-off to a much smaller area, and a lot less homes and business would be affected,” Parker Mayor Rich Musgrave said. “The valve that we should have been able to shut down, one couldn’t be shut all the way off.”
Musgrave said the project will help reduce water loss and improve the system’s reliability for Parker’s approximately 2,100 residential and business customers.
“The grant will be very helpful in upgrading some of our water system,” Musgrave said. “It’ll go a long way toward helping to improve our infrastructure.”
Overall, the Water Management District received 87 applications for grant funding and narrowed the list to 26 projects in Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Walton and Washington counties. Eligible projects included water supply development and alternative water supply projects, or those that result in conservation or groundwater water savings.
“The projects funded through the Northwest Florida Water Management District’s grant program are vital to ensuring a clean and reliable supply of water for the people, businesses and environment of this region,” Florida Senate President Don Gaetz said. “The district’s support of these projects will encourage economic development and bring jobs to our area.”
Other grants awarded include:
$182,232 to Calhoun County
$346,669 to the Eastpoint Water and Sewer District
$358,920 to the city of Port St. Joe
$30,870 in additional funding to Port St. Joe
$350,000 to the city of Bonifay
$553,853 to the town of Esto
$491,100 to the town of Westville
$322,062 to the town of Campbellton
$284,580 to the city of Cottondale
$426,729 to the city of Graceville
$25,744 to the town of Grand Ridge
$402,354 to the town of Sneads
$487,620 to the Florida Community Services Corporation (Regional Utilities) in Walton County
$250,800 to the town of Wausau.