RESTORE Act funds to support critical wastewater system upgrades citywide
Mayor Phil Torjusen today announced that the city of Gautier has been awarded a $2.3 million grant by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) as part of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Water Quality Improvement Program to improve wastewater systems throughout the city.
“Gautier residents have endured at least 54 individual instances of sanitary sewer overflow from flooded wastewater systems since March 2009,” Torjusen said. “These incidents pose health and safety concerns, environmental hazards, and cause irreparable damage to residents’ property.
The city will install a new sanitary sewer system consisting of gravity lines, force mains, and a lift station to transport the sewer to the existing wastewater treatment plant. The new lines will be installed along Old Spanish Trail and Gautier Vancleave Road.
“This RESTORE Act grant will allow our city to repair critical water infrastructure elements that have caused these overflows following periods of heavy rainfall and creates a greater quality of life for residents and prevents environmental harm to Pascagoula Bay,” Torjusen said.
Congressman Steven Palazzo and Mississippi State Senator Michael Watson provided integral support in securing the $2.3 million for Gautier.
The city continues its efforts in undertaking a comprehensive multi-year water resource improvement program that will address the increasingly problematic challenges of declining water quality and flood hazard issues with overall watershed management and looks forward to working with the Mississippi Congressional delegation to serve as a support system for residents and the business community.
This project will be paid for with federal funding from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality under the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act).
