Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Catawba County accepts $19.7 million from state for water and wastewater projects
Summary
On May 21 the Catawba County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted Resolution No. 2025-19 to accept $19,700,000 from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality for three water/wastewater projects: pump station upgrades and a 16-inch waterline; 1.5% ($300,000) will be withheld for NCDEQ administrative costs.
The Catawba County Board of Commissioners on May 21 unanimously adopted Resolution No. 2025-19 to accept $19,700,000 in State funds offered through the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality for water and wastewater infrastructure projects.
Director of Utilities and Engineering Peter Shonka asked the board to accept the funding, which originates from a legislative appropriation in Session Law 2023-134 (as amended by Session Law 2024-1). Under the award offers from NCDEQ, 1.5% of the total appropriation — $300,000 — is to be withheld for administrative costs, leaving $19,700,000 for local projects.
The county will allocate the funds to three projects as presented to the board: Brown Chapel and Mollys Backbone wastewater pump station upgrades (estimated $3,500,000); new Village Center wastewater pump station construction and Sherrills Ford wastewater pump station upgrades (combined estimate $7,700,000); and the Buffalo Shoals Road 16-inch waterline construction (estimated $8,500,000). The county has received Letters of Intent to Fund and Funding Offers from NCDEQ, and staff reported they are continuing project design work, preparing easement and property-acquisition documents, and completing compliance steps required by NCDEQ and the Division of Water Infrastructure.
Commissioner Robert C. Abernethy, Jr., moved to adopt the resolution accepting the funds; the motion carried unanimously. The resolution authorizes the County Manager to provide information required by NCDEQ, comply with any award conditions or assurances, and execute documents necessary to proceed with the Division of Water Infrastructure projects.
Next steps recorded in the minutes include continued design, easement acquisition and administrative compliance; no implementation schedule or construction start dates were specified in the minutes.
