Sewer project ribbon-cutting planned for October 18

The City of Onaway will be hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its recently-constructed sewer system and wastewater treatment plant.

The ceremony, which is expected to include state and federal legislators, funding source officials, and others involved with the design and construction of the system, will begin at noon.

The general public will be invited and is encouraged to attend the October 18 ribbon-cutting. It will take place on the grounds of the treatment facility.

The entrance to the plant is located at the west end of Spruce Street, a block north of Chandler Park.

Construction of the sewer system began in 2001, though planning actually began five years earlier, in 1996, and design began in 1999. The plant was completed and put into operation in June 2005.

About two-thirds of the City?s residences and businesses are connected at present, and collection system construction should wrap up by November 1, 2006, allowing for most of the others to be connected.

THE PROJECT cost approximately $13.5 million, $11 million of which came through state and federal grants from United States Department of Agriculture RD, Economic Development Administration, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

The project is an exciting one for Onaway, whose electorate voted at almost a 5-1 clip to authorize the $2.5 million in debt associated with the project prior to the commencement of construction.

The system will protect the city?s groundwater and will allow for economic development that would not have been possible without this vital piece of infrastructure.

According to a press release from the city, the sewer project is one of many positive things taking place in the community, and is part of a comprehensive plan to put Onaway on the road toward economic sustainability in the future.

Several new businesses have opened since the project began, and several dilapidated buildings have come down, paving the way for additional development.

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