The Calaveras County Water District (CCWD) is pleased to announce it has been awarded a $4.75 million grant from the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to consolidate its wastewater treatment plants in West Point and Wilseyville.  The project will combine two small wastewater treatment facilities that are both in need of upgrades and will ensure reliable wastewater treatment for the community for decades to come.  The grant will cover 100 percent of the project cost.  Project planning and design will take place in 2020 and construction is expected to begin in 2021.

CCWD’s grant team, led by District Engineer Charles Palmer and External Affairs Manager Joel Metzger, worked on the proposal over the course of several years.  While the five-year rate plan passed in 2018 was necessary to cover rising operational cost, an added benefit was the increased rate revenues allowed CCWD to meet the requirements of the SWRCB’s rigorous financial review to be eligible for this grant and others like it. CCWD strives to minimize the need for rate increases but, unfortunately in this case, rates had to be increased to show that CCWD is covering its costs.

“We do everything we can to minimize costs, but with increasing regulatory compliance burdens along with aging infrastructure, sometimes it just doesn’t add up and difficult decisions have to be made,” said CCWD General Manager, Michael Minkler.  “In this case, one of the direct benefits of the recent rate increase will be a major infrastructure project that does not burden our ratepayers.”

For detailed information about this project, go to www.ccwd.org/board-of-directors/board-agendas-minutes-videos and view item 4c of the January 8, 2020, Board agenda.

For more information, contact Joel Metzger, External Affairs Manager, at joelm@ccwd.org or (209) 754-3123. Learn more at www.ccwd.org.