Loxahatchee Groves representatives seek $4 million in federal funds for surface‑water work at appropriations clinic

Town of Loxahatchee Groves representatives asked for about $4 million in federal community‑project funding to repair pump houses, stabilize canal embankments and fix town weirs, saying the work would address surface‑water management across a 30‑mile canal system.

The request and related guidance were discussed during an appropriations clinic led by U.S. Rep. Sheila McCormick and Charisma Adams, the congresswoman’s director of economic development, who explained how to submit community‑project requests for fiscal 2026 appropriations and what to expect if a project is selected.

A town representative told the clinic that “we actually have about $80,000,000 worth of needs. The 4,000,000 will take care of our initial. Mostly, we're talking about the pump house, the weirs, and some of the canal stabilization.” The representative said the proposed work is limited to surface water and noted the town lacks formal areas for water retention.

A town public‑works official (name not specified) said the town has completed an assessment of the pump station and control structure and believes the project could be “shovel ready.” That official also said the town is considering telemetry and instrumentation upgrades as part of a pump‑station retrofit.

Charisma Adams outlined the appropriations process for community projects and emphasized timing and scope limits. “Each project request must be for fiscal year 26 funding only and cannot include a request for multi year funding,” Adams said, adding that projects must be completable in a single fiscal year and that offices often expect a high‑level budget at the time of submission. Adams also noted the average award in the cited program was about $1,500,000 and that applicants should consider prioritizing phases so some portion of a project could proceed if the full request is not funded.

Town officials and the congresswoman’s staff also discussed match requirements. A town official said the town is designated a rural community and that, as they understood it, that status can reduce or eliminate matching requirements for some grants. Charisma Adams cautioned that some rural funding streams (cited by her as programs under the agriculture/rural development subcommittee) include a 25% match requirement for communities of 10,000 residents or fewer; applicants should verify match rules for each program when preparing requests.

Adams walked attendees through practical application steps: register on SAM.gov in advance, include clear contact information, attach letters of support or local media showing community need, and be prepared to supply more detailed engineering and budget documentation if a project is selected and moves to the administering federal agency. She repeated that applicants typically learn within about two weeks if the congressperson will submit their request to appropriations staff and that public announcements of selected projects would follow the office’s timeline.

Town officials said the $4 million ask targets near‑term fixes — pump house retrofits, weir repairs and canal embankment stabilization — while acknowledging the town estimates roughly $80 million in total water‑infrastructure needs. Staff suggested prioritizing the most critical, single‑year phases in the application so that work could proceed if an award is lower than requested.

The clinic also included brief discussion of related local housing and land‑purchase options for preservation and resilience; Adams noted community‑project funding can be used for land acquisition in some cases. No formal funding decisions were made at the meeting.

The session closed with Congresswoman McCormick and her staff offering continued technical assistance on drafting submissions and collecting letters of support.