Fairhope seeks $13.3m RESTORE grant for wastewater treatment plant Phase II

Fairhope seeks $13.3m RESTORE grant for wastewater treatment plant Phase IIFairhope City Council has authorised a $13.255 million RESTORE grant submission for the next phase of wastewater treatment plant upgrades. The application carries no local match requirement and would fund engineering, design and construction-related improvements.

Council approved submission of a $13.255 million RESTORE grant application for Wastewater Treatment Plant Phase II Improvements.

The proposed scope includes a control building, UV disinfection, solids handling, aerobic digesters, headworks and digester odour control, plus associated engineering and design.

The RESTORE application requires no city match.

Fairhope's FY2027 budget allocates $68.386 million to the combined water and wastewater fund, including $30.540 million for the wastewater department.

Fairhope City Council has authorised a $13.255 million RESTORE grant application to advance Phase II improvements at the Alabama city’s wastewater treatment plant, pursuing external funding for a broad package of treatment and solids-management works without a local match. The council approved the submission on 28 September, authorising Mayor Sherry Sullivan to execute the necessary documents. If awarded, the funding would cover engineering and design for a new control building as well as upgrades to UV disinfection, solids handling, digesters, headworks odour control and new digesters. Supporting cost material identifies a $1.70 million control-building package, including site grading, paving, electrical work, furnishings and equipment. A UV disinfection-system package is estimated at $2.90 million and includes new 6mgd UV equipment, installation work and relocation of existing 12mgd UV equipment. The proposed solids-handling facility is estimated at $3.31 million, including a solids building, belt press, feed pumps, equipment piping and electrical systems. Aerobic digester works are estimated at $3.91 million, incorporating concrete basins, fine-bubble diffusers, a floating decanter, blowers, instrumentation, piping and electrical work. The supporting estimates also include yard piping, odour-control and SCADA and instrumentation elements. The grant application comes as Fairhope adopts a FY2027 budget of $200.666 million. The water and wastewater fund accounts for $68.386 million of that total, with $30.540 million allocated to the wastewater department. In a separate treatment-plant procurement decision, the council rejected all bids for Water Treatment Plant No. 1 liquid treatment upgrades after staff described the pricing as excessive. The city will rebid that project under Alabama procurement law.