Maine
State Agencies Supporting Water System Partnerships
Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Drinking Water Program (DWP)
State Policies and Programs Regarding Water System Partnerships
CONSOLIDATION GRANTS
One of the long term goals of the Maine DWSRF is to provide assistance for consolidation or interconnected systems. The Maine DWSRF offers Water System Consolidation grants specifically for the consolidation of two or more water systems. Water systems with a TMF capacity issue can receive partial funding to consolidate with a more viable PWS. These projects do not necessarily have to involve construction. The grant provides 50 percent of the cost for for-profit facilities or 75 percent for non-profit facilities up to $100,000 (see State of Maine 2017 IUP).
CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT GRANTS
The Capacity Development Program uses DWSRF set-aside money to offer Capacity Development grants to PWSs to help prepare professional documents, including Comprehensive System Facilities Plans, Capital Improvement Plans, System Hydraulic Modeling Studies, Comprehensive Operations and Maintenance Manuals, System Vulnerability Assessments, Emergency Response Plans, Management Review Studies, System Consolidation Studies, Asset Management Plans, GIS Infrastructure Mapping, Energy Audit Reports, Water Audit Reports, Water Storage Tank Upgrade/Replacement Evaluations, Hydrogeologic Investigation Reports for locating new groundwater well locations, and other professionally prepared documents that can be used to enhance system capacity. Eligible projects receive 50 percent of the cost of the document up to $15,000.
OPERATOR SHARING
Maine’s Operator Certification Program has published guidelines for contracts between water system owners and contract operators, including the scope of services, the distance between the contract operator and water system, etc. See link below.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE
Maine’s state wide Water and Wastewater Agency Response Network (MEWARN) of utilities, provides water and wastewater utilities with a Mutual Aid Agreement and process for sharing staff and resources statewide in the event of an emergency.
Helpful Links for State Resources
- Contract Operator Guidelines: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/environmental-health/dwp/professionals/PWSOperatorRequirements.shtml
- MEWARN: http://www.mewarn.org/
- Drinking Water Program: http://www.medwp.com
- Maine DWSRF Financial Resources (DWSRF and other loans and grants): http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/environmental-health/dwp/pws/financialResources.shtml
- Capacity Development: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/environmental-health/dwp/partners/capacityDevelopment.shtml