The Massachusetts Clean Water Trust’s Board of Trustees approved $294,858,284 in low-interest loans and grants, including a $3,831,850 zero interest loan to the Lynnfield Center Water District (LCWD).
This loan is a part of the Glenn Drive Water Treatment Plant and Station 2 Pipeline project which received a previous loan of $15 million this summer.
As part of a collaborative effort with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, the Trust helps communities to build or replace water infrastructure through the Massachusetts State Revolving Funds (SRF), all of which are low-interest loans or grants.
According to the press release sent out by the Trust, “SRFs function like an environmental infrastructure bank by financing water infrastructure projects in cities and towns across the Commonwealth.”
Department of Public Works Director and LCWD Director John Scenna said the town applied for an SRF loan more than a year ago in order to fund the construction of the Glen Drive Water Treatment Plan.
“It came in increments because the project was phased,” Scenna said. “The first part was construction of the treatment plant, the second part is pipework to bring water from one station to the treatment plant.”
With this second loan being approved and sent over by the Trust, the project for the water treatment plant has been fully funded. Over the course of twenty years, the town will pay back the funding in full without having to pay an additional interest cost.
Scenna noted this project’s loan appropriation was phased into two parts because it allowed for the town to bid them separately, thus opening up a greater level of cost efficiency.
“We felt that it was more appropriate to bid them separately because they were two different types of work. One was pipeline work and one was construction of a treatment plant,” Scenna said. “It brings different vendors to each bid, which keeps it more competitive and keeps our budget within the estimated value.”
This approach ended up being a success for the city, as both components for the project have come under what they thought construction costs to be.
Substantial construction for the Glen Drive Water Treatment Planet is expected to be completed in March of 2026.
