JACKSON, Mich. — Jackson City Council will be putting in $10 million toupgrade its wastewater treatment plant to boost its infrastructure, while $1.1 million will go towards its water treatment plant.
Jackson Public Information Officer Aaron Dimick said the upgrades to these facilities are essential.
“I think whenever one flushes a toilet or send something down the sink or take a shower, they want to make sure that that water is not going to come back,” he said. “It’s going to go to the plant, it’s going to be treated and put back appropriately into the environment. So, this is a huge thing when it comes to infrastructure.”
To pay for it, the city will be getting $10 million from the state of Michigan’s Clean Water Revolving Fund. The low interest loan has up to 20 percent principal forgiveness.
“I know these things might sound very expensive when we have so many other needs in the community like roads or public safety, but this is one of the most essential services that we can do is cleaning up whatever is sent our way through the pipes,” Dimick said.
The city does not have an official start date on when upkeep will start there.
As for the water treatment plant, about $1.1 million will be coming from the American Rescue Plan Act funds to pay for maintenance to its clarifier, which is a big container that holds the water and helps clean it.
“The big chore there is repainting the clarifiers because having a good seal and a coat of paint protects the equipment, but then it also ensures that the water is clean,” Dimick said. “When we bring the water in, we want to make sure that it’s as clean as can be.”
Dimick says that project does not have an exact start date, but it will be getting underway very soon.
“We’re kind of in this point right now at the city of Jackson where a lot of our infrastructure is aging, and we’re really thankful for something like the American Rescue Plan, because then we have that money that we can use on projects like this,” he said. “If we didn’t have this money coming in, we’d really have to look at our city budget and see where we would have take money from to do these essential repairs, or maybe put them off even further.”
To keep track of how the city of Jackson has been spending its American Rescue Plan funds, click here.
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