DELHI, La. (KTVE/KARD) – The town of Delhi received $4.4 million in Water Sector Program grant funding to upgrade its Sewer Treatment Plant.
Delhi mayor Jesse Washington says a total $5.5 million will go towards vital improvements.
“This is one of the biggests grants that we have received since I’ve been here.”
The project will include removing about 10 million gallons of sludge because the capacity of Delhi’s sludge management facility is not high enough.
“It couldn’t get through the system in a timely manner with the small belt press that we have,” explained Washington.
Glenn Turner, town’s engineer with Meyer Meyer Lacroix & Hixson, says this project will give Delhi more capacity to treat sludge, and dewater the sludge with the addition of the larger belt press.
“And to additional capacity to compose the sludge. And then, it has a big backlog of sludge at the treatment plant. And this much needed grant funding will allow Delhi to dry the lagoon out and dewater that sludge and the land applied on area farms.”
Other upgrades will include installing backup generators at 5 of the town’s major sewer lift stations that would benefit Delhi residents and local businesses.
“With the extended power outages, sometimes there is no place for the wastewater to go, so this will allow the lift stations to run during the ice storm and then during a hurricane,” said Turner.
The matching funds for this project will be 26 percent. Washington says this portion comes from state funds received in 2021, which it comes to a total of $5.5 million.
“Fortunately we have a portion of the matching funds by utilizing our ARPA funds.”
Delhi’s wastewater treatment also serves Hydro Extrusions and the Lamb West Sweet Potato Processing Plant.
The project is expected to begin this Summer and be completed within a year.
