Counties scramble for stimulus funds for water projects - bizjournals:

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The money, announced by the last week, includeds $30.8 million for wastewater projectsand $19.u7 million for drinking water Although not as large as the highway projects being funded by the stimulus the work still will create dozens of constructiojn jobs statewide. The money is beinbg channeled through the Clean for the wastewater projectss and the Drinking Water StatedRevolving Fund. The money, which is beinf administered by thestate , must be spentf by February 2010 or it will be redistributed to othef states.
Ordinarily, those two funds provide low-interestg loans to the counties for municipalwater But, because the funds are part of the federalp stimulus package, there will be zero interest and the principal will be which means the money will be free. The Big Islan plans to go out to bid in the next four to eighft weeks for its two wastewaterprojectzs — the replacement of large-capacityt cesspools in Honokaa and Komohanw Heights. The stimulus will fund $6.2 millionj for the Honokaa project, with the balance of $6 million cominb from the state revolving Stimulus money will cover the entire cost ofthe $1.
35 million Komohana Heights project, said Lono Tyson, director of the Hawaiio County Department of Environmental Management. The two project will generate approximately two dozen depending on how many people thecontractors hire, he There may be other jobs generate d by people choosing to hook up to the countg sewer system after the cesspools are Fifteen to 20 contractors attended a recent pre-bid meeting for the projects, Tysonn said. “There’s a lot of a lot of interest,” he said. “These people also know because it’s stimulus-driven, these projects are goingb to happen.
” Kauai County officials haven’t gotten that far for the expansionh of the Waimea Wastewater Treatment Plan. “We’re scrambling to get our RFP packagwe put togetherfor advertisement,” said Ed Tschupp, chiedf of the county’s wastewater The stimulus will fund $7.5 millioj of the total $12 million cost of the design-builrd project, and probably will generate abouty 40 jobs over the two-year construction period, he said. “It’s a significant projecrt for the county,” Tschupp “It’s probably the largest project that the wastewatee management division has managed ina while.
” Otheer wastewater projects receiving stimulus funds are the firsy phase of the Waimalu sewer rehabilitation on which will receive $7.85 million toward its $50 million cost; and countywidde pump station renovations for Maui which will get $7.5 million toward the $9.5 millio n cost. Drinking water projects, whicg will receive between $1.6 million and $4.9 include replacement of water mains in Pacifix Heights and Kapahulu on Oahu and in Waimeqa Canyonon Kauai; water line replacements in Lihuew on Kauai and in Wailuku and Kiheki on Maui; a water tank replacementg in West Olinda on Maui; and the developmentr of a well in South Kohalw on the Big Island.