Aug. 11, 2023 – The City of Staunton has been awarded $5.93M by the Virginia Department of Health Office of Drinking Water (ODW) to go toward the City’s Gardner Springs Pump Station project. These funds will come from ODW’s allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds that are being distributed state-wide to 45 ongoing projects, totaling $100M.
The City of Staunton had previously issued a bond for $8.5M to cover the Gardner Springs Pump Station project, but with the ODW funds, the City will be able to allocate part of the bond funds to other capital improvements projects related to the City’s water system. City Council will hold a public hearing at its regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Aug. 24, 2023 in the Rita S. Wilson Council Chambers, regarding this matter.
Installed in the 1940’s and serving as the primary water source for the City of Staunton, the Gardner Springs Pump Station project replaces the existing pump station with a new one. The new pump station will be designed for the modern equipment it will house, will be elevated above the flood plain, and will have adequate emergency power to allow full operations without commercial power. The new pump station will also be able to draw from the Middle River, as needed, and will provide appropriate security, lighting and communications, greatly increasing overall resiliency across the entire source water system.
The proposed improvements, which are currently under construction, will create an appropriately robust, redundant, and resilient drinking water system. “This infusion of ODW’s ARPA funds frees up debt capacity for other critically needed water projects, benefitting Staunton’s City-wide water program as a whole,” stated City Manager Leslie Beauregard.
