Goldberg Announces Revere Receives $594K in Principal Forgiveness Funds for Water Projects

State Treasurer Deb Goldberg, Chair of the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust, announced more than $7.5 million in loan principal forgiveness for 17 projects in nine communities statewide, including Revere which received $594,502.

The principle forgiveness funds are administered on a competitive basis to cities and towns most in need of financial assistance to help pay for improvements to drinking water and infrastructure.

“Providing these funds to local communities will save the ratepayers money and protect the health of the citizens and the environment,” said Treasurer Goldberg. “This $7.5 million is another example of the excellent work the Trust does saving our local communities money.”

Our administration takes steps whenever possible to ease the financial burden of maintaining and improving our water infrastructure. The work that is undertaken with the money is critical to assure clean water for our residents, but that work is very expensive. We are fortunate that the City of Revere has been among the communities to successfully compete for assistance and we are grateful that State Treasurer Deb Goldberg recognizes how important this program is to our city. And we are fortunate that the Baker-Polito administration similarly is committed to offer the financial assistance that will save money for our rate payers while, at the same time, protect their health and improve our environment,” said Mayor Brian Arrigo.

The communities that earned loan principal forgiveness are: Brockton, Fall River, Gardner, Gloucester, New Bedford, Revere, Wareham, Webster, and West Springfield.

In Revere, funds will go toward 2017 Principal Forgiveness Projects such as:

  • Continuing the implementation of construction contracts for the Illicit Connection and Sump Pump Removal Program is essential for the City of Revere to meet its goals and comply with a consent decree. There is a significant number of illicit sump pumps, roof drains, roof leaders, driveway drains, yard drains, etc. connections from private homes and businesses that must be removed from the sewer to remove inflow and increase the wastewater capacity of the City’s sewer system.
  • Also the Phase VIII Construction Project will include the removal of inflow/infiltration (I/I) from the City’s sewer system. I/I causes excessive water volume in the sanitary sewer, which contributes to overflows and capacity issues. Construction will include the redirection of public and private inflow sources discovered during the Phase VIII Field Investigations project, illicit discharge detection and elimination (IDDE) source removal, and drainage improvements. Construction will also include pump station improvements (both stormwater and wastewater), cured in place pipe (CIPP) lining, sewer spot repairs, replacements, new sewer lines, cleaning, and additional wastewater metering.

Funds will also go toward drinking water projects such as replacing lead services. This project involves the replacement of approximately 600 lead service lines (LSLs) throughout the City of Revere. The City has identified 250 active LSLs to date throughout an ongoing automatic meter replacement program. Based on the number of properties in the City that have been inspected and the estimated value of the identified LSLs found to date, it is believed that approximately 600 LSLs will need to be replaced. The adverse health effects of lead exposure in children and adults are well documented. No safe blood level threshold in children has been established. Lead exposure causes neurological and cognitive impairments in children and fetuses. It can also cause high blood pressure and kidney problems in adults. Removing LSLs addresses a critical public health risk.

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