The city of South Haven and its regional water and sewer authority have broken ground on upgrades to the area's aging wastewater and drinking water infrastructure.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy recently announced $267 million in grants to rebuild the state's water infrastructure. Among the recipients is the city of South Haven and the South Haven Area Water-Sewer Authority.
“We have had a few sanitary sewer overflows just given the age of our infrastructure not uncommon for a community to have issues when you have 100 year old pipes in the ground," said Dana Burd, director of public works for the city of South Haven.
"These grant funds will help us at our wastewater treatment plant primarily to make sure we're complying with all treatment and also make some energy efficient upgrades at the wastewater plant," Burd said. "We've been really fortunate to receive a total of about $20 million in grants and then another $22 million in low interest loans."
The loans come from a combination of state and federal aid programs, Burd said.
Some of South Haven's key water infrastructure, like its standpipe and booster station, are 100 years old.
The projects in South Haven include replacement of blowers and diffusers in the water treatment system and installation of ultraviolet disinfection to replace the existing chlorine disinfection system.
The city also plans construction of a new elevated storage tank, booster station, water main replacement, and the replacement of approximately 2,100 lead service lines.
Officials said the projects should be completed by 2028.
