Lower MUA Gets $10 M Grant/Loan to Bring Water to Villas, Town Bank

VILLAS – Lower Township Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) was awarded $2.7 million in grants and $8.1 million in loans from the USDA to fund a $10.8 million water main improvement project for Townbank/Villas areas.
According to MUA Executive Director Mike DeMarcantonio, the expanded water service area will be centered west of Bayshore Road from Townbank Road up to Wildwood Avenue in Villas. The first phase will be a transmission line which will tie in at Fishing Creek and Bayshore roads and run to Wildwood Avenue and down to Bay Drive to Clubhouse Drive into Townbank Road and connect the east and west in a big loop.
In Town Bank, work will start at Englewood Road and go up through Pinewood Drive and from Mowery to Delview Road up to Wildwood Avenue, he said.
The project must be completed by August 2015. DeMarcantonio said if the project is done in phases, it could be completed in three years.
Areas on the east side of Villas are not included in this project.
“This is where USDA wanted to put their money,” said DeMarcantonio.
The loan portion has a term of 40 years at 2.5 percent interest,” he said. DeMarcantonio said USDA was aware of contaminated water in areas of Town Bank.
The $10 million grant/loan package is the second largest in the history of the state.
“Ensuring that communities like Lower Township are eligible for Department of Agriculture investments like this was a cause I helped to champion in the Senate, and it will help make this an even healthier and more prosperous area,” said Sen. Robert Menendez. “This investment will not only ensure a clean water supply that meets all safety guidelines, it will not only improve fire safety, it will also provide construction jobs. In these difficult economic times, investments like these are an investment in the future.”
“This Recovery Act funding will put New Jerseyans to work improving infrastructure that will provide clean water to Lower Township for years to come,” said Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee helped write the Recovery Act. “This investment is proof positive that the Recovery Act is delivering for New Jersey and laying the groundwork for economic growth in the future.”
“This new water infrastructure project will not only provide the residents of Town Bank with an adequate, safe, and dependable water supply, it will bring construction job opportunities as well as creating the tools to rebuild our economy,” said Rural Development State Director Howard Henderson.
The proposed water main improvements will store a total of 368,600 gallons of water. Multiple connection points with the water mains will be provided to the Villas water main infrastructure to provide redundancy, increase flow and reduce the chances of a potential public water outage in the Villas section and throughout the Township.
In an effort to provide the maximum amount of service area at the lowest cost, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) C-900 pipe was selected due to its lower installation cost and its long service life. The water main installation project will have minimal annual operating costs. Costs will include short-term assets, including pumps and emergency repairs.