City of Glendale getting $300K for water treatment improvements

(The Center Square) – The city of Glendale is receiving $300,000 in taxpayer dollars for a water treatment plant renovation.

The funds are meant for two new chillers at the city's plant as part of the Industrial Training and Assessment Centers Implementation Grant Program.

“These kinds of investments are exactly what we need to modernize our energy infrastructure and secure Arizona’s water future,” U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona said in a news release. “These federal resources will help local facilities optimize their energy usage and bring down costs for Arizonans.”

Like many grants headed toward local government, the money was allocated through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.

According to the news release , $80 million in the law went to the ITAC grant program. The Department of Energy's website said that the maximum amount for the grant is $300,000, which is what the city was awarded, and it's intended to help manufacturers.

In addition to the new chillers, the city is also tasked with conducting a "detailed energy analysis" – as the grant is larger and meant to help further specific environmental goals. The infrastructure law came with an overall $1.2 trillion price tag, as money continues to pour into local governments throughout the country, as well as funding to the private sector through various grant application processes.

Those who support the law continue to praise it for the funding's uses, whereas critics have said it only added to post-pandemic inflation woes.