Dempsey, Legislators Deliver Sewer Odor Control Loan

Water treatment plant near Kenoza Lake.

Low Interest Loans Also Cover Water Treatment Plant, Pipelines

Rep. Brian S. Dempsey, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Rep. Brian S. Dempsey, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

As the city looks to resolve odor problems stemming from the South Porter Street wastewater treatment plant and address other federal mandates, help has arrived from the state in the form of low-interest loans.

Haverhill is eligible to receive $16 million in low interest financing through the state’s revolving fund, said Rep. Brian S. Dempsey, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Sen. Kathleen O’Connor Ives (D-Newburyport), Rep. Linda Dean Campbell (D-Methuen) and Rep. Diana Dizoglio (D-Methuen) said Tuesday. The 2 percent loans cover water treatment plant upgrades and transmission main improvements.

“The Clean Water Trust funding will provide Haverhill with the opportunity to address necessary upgrades to city’s water and sewer infrastructure,” said Dempsey. “Providing an updated and more efficient water treatment facility will prove to lower energy consumption and improve water quality in our city.”

The fund is administered by the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust (MCWT)—a joint effort of MassDEP, the Executive Office of Administration and Finance and the state Treasurer’s Office. It supports the engineering, design and construction of drinking water facilities and systems that protect public health and strengthen compliance with state and federal drinking water requirements. The city has until June 30 to decide whether it will move forward with the projects.

“This is an opportunity for Haverhill to fund upgrades at the waste water treatment plant not only to address odors, but also to prevent combined sewer overflow events into the Merrimack River,” said O’Connor Ives.

“These loans are critical for many communities like the City of Haverhill,” said Dean Campbell. “As we’ve seen recently in the news there are few services more essential to our citizens than clean water and these loans are a critical step to ensure that our water infrastructure is maintained and preserved.”

“I am immensely pleased about the announcement of these awards to fund wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects in the City of Haverhill,” said Dizoglio. “The loans will have a significant and positive impact in improving water quality, yet also cutting energy costs.”

To be eligible for loans, municipalities, wastewater districts and water suppliers filed applications with MassDEP last year demonstrating proposed projects offer significant public health or drinking water quality benefits have local funding authorization, and that there is a commitment on the borrower’s part to file a timely loan application.