Escalon City Council reviews funding gap, timeline for surface water and wastewater projects

Escalon City Council received a status update Wednesday on two major water infrastructure efforts: a proposed surface water connection estimated at about $14,000,000 and a planned wastewater treatment plant upgrade the city estimates at about $40,000,000.

City Manager (City Manager) told the council the city applied for a federal grant request of $3,000,000 for the surface water project and expects to learn whether it will receive any award by the end of February. “We applied for $3,000,000. We don't know if we'll be successful in getting any grant or the $3,000,000 through the federal program,” the City Manager said. He said the city has collected “a little over $7,000,000” toward the roughly $14,000,000 project and that the city has secured, but not yet received, $1,100,000 in community project funds through Congressman Harter's office. He also reported $1,800,000 in water sales to the city of Tracy as part of the funding picture.

The City Manager said the city expected about a 40% chance of winning the federal grant based on competition and the project profile and that a…