Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that the Seal Rock Water District will receive $1.5 million in federal grants to assist with the construction of a storm-resilient and reliable water treatment plant.
The funding is being allocated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Water and Waste Disposal Loans and Grants program.
“Access to reliable drinking water is essential to the health and economic vitality of our rural communities,” said Merkley, who serves as the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for the USDA. “At a time when our state and our nation are tackling a severe public health emergency, I’m pleased that this funding will help deliver water services Oregonians can count on. As we continue to weather this storm, I’m going to do everything I can to fight for the infrastructure investments we need to build a strong foundation for our future.”
“As the nation continues to grapple with a historic public health crisis, access to clean and safe drinking water should never be in question,” Wyden said. “These investments in critical water infrastructure add up to a safer community and better quality of life for these rural Oregonians, as well as an opportunity to support more jobs.”
The Seal Rock community’s water access is currently unreliable and vulnerable to storms because it is piped in from nearby Toledo through tsunami inundation zones and landslide and flood-prone areas.
To help ensure that the 4,340 Oregonians who are served by the Seal Rock Water District gain reliable access to safe drinking water, this funding will be used to construct its own membrane filtration water cleaning system located above the tsunami impact zone; install a water pipeline; build a 500,000-gallon reservoir; install submersible pumps in Beaver Creek; and install backup power generators.
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