PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — City and state officials on Wednesday celebrated $25 million in grants to the Philadelphia Water Department for projects to improve drinking water, reduce flooding and make the Delaware River cleaner.
The award was announced by state legislators at the Northeast Water Pollution Control Plant in Port Richmond. The money comes from $200 million in federal funds that were awarded to the state for distribution. State Rep. Jordan Harris says Philadelphia is getting more than 10% of the total.
“Philadelphia is one of the oldest cities in the country and because of that, we have an old and aging infrastructure and that infrastructure must be addressed,” Harris said.
Some of the grant money will go to expanding the capacity of the Germantown pumping station to reduce sewer overflow and flooding. Another chunk will go to a long-term plan to improve drinking water quality at the Queen Lane plant in East Falls. The largest share will go to the Port Richmond plant.
Water Commissioner Randy Hayman says the grants will have a big impact. “These are improvements that will touch the lives of Philadelphians. Each of these projects will make our city cleaner, greener and safer and show people how support from the state and federal government can improve the lives of our residents,” he said.
Harris promised more help would be coming from Harrisburg, which delighted Mayor Cherelle Parker.
“Thank you for not bringing home slogans,” she said. “Slogans won’t help us fix our aging infrastructure.”