The City of Norwich received $2.85 million in funding from the omnibus government funding bill for fiscal year 2023, providing the rest of the funds needed for the $4 million water main replacement project. The replacement area includes portions of South Broad Street and East Main Street, and is anticipated to begin in April of this year and completed around July. (Photo by Dustin Genter of 5th Dimension Photography)

NORWICH ― At the end of December, President Joe Biden signed the omnibus government funding bill for fiscal year 2023 that awarded the City of Norwich $2.85 million in funding for a water main replacement project.

The project will cost a total of $4 million. The city had already allocated $479,233 in a capital reserve fund for the project, and also had $670,767 in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The additional $2.85 million awarded has relieved the need for a loan to cover the remaining costs.

"This will save that additional taxpayer burden, taking on any additional debt for a water project," said City of Norwich Community Development Director Erik Scrivener. "The remainder that we didn’t have, we were going to have to take out a loan with USDA, so this will kind of cancel a need for a loan."

"We’re carrying debt on other water projects, so not adding another $2.8 million to it goes a long way. The tax base is not large, we’re not a large city that can cover a $2.5 or $2.85 million debt easily like that. We’re limited as far as taxpayers go, so that would really add up if we were putting that burden on the taxpayers. So we’re doing our part to keep it lower," he added.

An additional break on the overall cost is the city's stockpile of piping, which was approved to be used in the water main replacement project. Department of Public Works (DPW) Superintendent Ed Pepe said he expects to have enough piping to cover the extent of the project, further offsetting the total cost.

The planned project area includes 5,760 feet of piping on South Broad Street, approximately spanning from the Prentice and Broad Street intersection to the Mechanic and Broad Street intersection, and a 640-foot section of East Main Street between the Broad Street intersection and the railroad tracks, for a total of 1.2 miles in pipe replacement.

Scrivener said the lines are "in desperate need of being replaced" and "at the end of their useful life," as much of the piping currently under the streets dates back as far as 1881.

"I think it was 40 to 50 percent of the water generated in our water drinking system was lost to leaks," said Scrivener. "So obviously there is an efficiency component of this as well."

"This little section is going to improve it somewhat. We’re still going to be losing it in other areas of the city that need improvements, but you’ve got to start somewhere," he added. "That’s a major stretch along Broad Street. But we figured that’s the main line coming down into our Business Improvement District, it’s going to help with our efficiency service, keeping it reliable in that area."

The city coordinated with NYSEG and the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) to schedule the replacement. NYSEG will first be replacing gas transmission lines. The water main replacement project will follow, and Scrivener said it is anticipated to begin in April of this year and be finished around July.

Following the water main replacement, Pepe said the DOT will be repaving South Broad Street, North Broad Street, and East Main Street.

Scrivener said he knows there are other areas in Norwich that are in need of water line replacement, and looking into those and identifying priority areas for a future replacement project is on the radar.

"I don’t know what those are yet, but we want to be looking at taking advantage of other sources of funding for those down the road, whether it’s this pool of money again or anything within the state," he said. "There’s a lot of money for drinking water in the state right now, and they’re going to be coming up over the next couple of years."

Successfully pursuing the $2.8 million in federal funding was a group effort, according to Scrivener. Letters of support were provided by Senator Joe Angelino, Senator Fred Akshar, Commerce Chenango, and the Chenango County Planning Department.

The city also worked with the offices of Representative Claudia Tenney, Senator Chuck Schumer, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

"We had support from a number of agencies that we submitted with these applications. So the narrative and the support from everyone else led to us getting this award," said Scrivener. "It helps us in the bigger scheme of all things related to our infrastructure. With economic development, you have to have good infrastructure to bring businesses in, bring residents in, and keep them here. So right through the heart of the city, this is an important area to improve it."