COVINGTON, Ga. — The city government was recently awarded $26.24 million Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) loan by the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) board of directors to help fund various sewer system infrastructure projects.
Covington City Manager Tres Thomas, who also serves as city engineer, said the GEFA loan would be used to fund four different projects.
The first would be the installation of approximately 27,000 linear feet of 42-inch, 30-inch, and 24-inch diameter gravity sewer main.
Other projects would include the abandonment of the Bridgestone Lift Station, and the rehabilitation of the Eastside Lift Station.
Work toward the completion of these three projects is already underway, Thomas said. Predesign meetings for each were held May 12. He said bid openings for materials would be May 27 and bid openings for the construction would be June 15.
A notice to proceed on the projects would likely be issued between July and August. Thomas said “substantial completion” of the projects was expected by August 2023.
The fourth and final project the loan would fund is upgrades to the Covington Wastewater Reclamation Facility, Thomas said, which would “lag about two months behind the aforementioned items.” Components of the sewer system have reached the end of their useful life, a news release stated, and this project will enhance system resiliency, reliability and efficiency.
The city will pay 0.13% interest on the 20-year loan, which is eligible for a reduced interest rate because the city is a WaterFirst Community.
The CWSRF provides low-interest loans for wastewater and water pollution control infrastructure. These projects conserve and improve water resources and facilitate economic development. The program is jointly funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state of Georgia.
The Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA), headquartered in Atlanta, provides financing for a variety of energy, land, and water projects. Since 1985, GEFA has approved financial commitments totaling more than $5 billion to local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.
