County commissioners announce grants for water, sewer and drainage districts

Lincoln County has allocated $398,000 of its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money to invest in local water, sewer and drainage districts serving unincorporated Lincoln County.

The American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law in March of 2021 and provided states, cities, and counties with federal money to support pandemic recovery efforts and economic stimulus. One allowed use for ARPA dollars is to support public water, sewer and drainage projects.

The county will use an open grant process to award these funds.

The grant application is available online at https://tinyurl.com/LCWaterGrants and applications will be accepted until all funds are allocated. The applications will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis to qualifying districts and projects.

The county will execute contracts with awarded districts before Dec. 31. All work on the awarded projects must be completed by December 2026.

Each eligible district can ask for up to $50,000 in total.

To be eligible for these funds, districts must be an existing local water, sewer, or drainage district serving unincorporated Lincoln County. Projects can be stand-alone projects or a discrete portion of a larger project. Applications will be reviewed by county administrative, legal, and engineering staff to ensure they meet American Rescue Plan Act legal and technical requirements.