Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that the Caribou Utilities District received a grant of $1,400,000 and a loan of $4,200,000 through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Rural Development to upgrade Caribou’s wastewater treatment facility and collection system.  The project will help prevent overflows of untreated or partially treated wastewater during wet weather.

“Maintaining and upgrading water infrastructure is vital to ensuring the economic and environmental health of communities,” said Senators Collins and King in a joint statement.  “We welcome this significant funding for Caribou to improve its wastewater treatment system, which will help to preserve water quality and public health, increase operation efficiencies at the treatment facility, and protect the surrounding environment.”

The improvements at Caribou’s wastewater treatment facility will include removing sludge, removing and replacing old aeration piping and equipment, replacing lagoon liner, improving hydraulic connectivity between lagoons and the chlorine contact tank, increasing the capacity of lagoons, and replacing blowers and controls.

The Water and Waste Disposal grant program aims to help rural communities establish best practices that can save tax dollars, improve the environment, and help manufacturers and businesses to establish or expand operations.