Jan 24th 2020 | Posted in Federal by Texas Government Insider

The city of Seabrook secured funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for design and engineering of a new Pine Gulley Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Seabrook Main Street WWTP Seabrook working to replace wastewater treatment plant damaged by hurricane

Seabrook wastewater treatment plant

Hurricane Ike flooding damaged the city’s current Main Street plant, which is at sea level, and left residents without sewage service for five days. Repairs took months to complete.

FEMA awarded the city $2.96 million through its Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) to design a new facility at a higher elevation. The city will match the grant with $988,678 of its own money.

Per conditions of the grant, the city must complete the design phase and gain FEMA approval by November. Upon completion, FEMA will review the engineering and design phase of the $31.35 million project for approval to allow the city to move into phase two of the project, which will include bidding and construction of the 2.5 million-gallon per day wastewater system. The city also plans to build a new lift station and demolish the Main Street plant.

City officials are optimistic that FEMA will fund $23.5 million of the construction that would take three years with the support of federal financing. If not, the city is prepared to issue certificates of obligation to ensure the project moves forward under a longer timeline of 10 to 12 years.