Board receives grant

Ed Poolos, the Decatur branch manager for ADEM, presented a $500,000 grant check to the Russellville Water and Sewer Board on Thursday. Pictured from L to R: Poolos, board member Wanda Myrick, board member Richard Tutich, Russellville Water and Sewer manager Doug Clement, assistant manager Lee Parker, Russellville Utilities officer manager Pat Seal, board member Dan Terry and board member Curtis Grissom.

The Russellville Water and Sewer Board will now be able to provide even cleaner drinking water that also is energy efficient thanks to grants and loans from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM).
On Thursday, Ed Poolos, the Decatur branch manager for ADEM, presented a check for $500,000 to Russellville Water and Sewer manager Doug Clement and other members of the board.
Jerome Hand, public relations director for ADEM, said the $500,000 grant would be coupled with funding provided as low interest loans to total $1.3 million in funds that Russellville Water and Sewer would be able to use to support energy efficiency upgrades at the city’s water treatment plant.
Hand said the funds will be utilized to support the installation of variable frequency drive pumps at the Lake Elliott Raw Water Pump Station, which will result in significantly reduced operational energy costs and an energy savings of approximately $30,000 per year.
Once installed, the energy efficient pumps will reduce energy consumption at these plants by over 465,000 kilowatt hours per year.
“This project is beneficial because it saves electricity and helps the environment while also providing cleaner and safer drinking water,” Hand said.
“Our main goal at ADEM is to safeguard the environment, and when an entity is trying to take steps to provide cleaner and safer drinking water, that’s something we are glad to support.”
Hand said approximately $1 million of the funds will originate from a clean air agreement that was signed between the Tennessee Valley Authority, the state of Alabama and other entities, and the remaining $300,000 will come from the ADEM Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.
“I am pleased that ADEM can use its financial and technical resources to support these energy efficient upgrades,” Lance LeFleur, ADEM director, said.
“These funds will allow the Russellville Water and Sewer Board to continue to provide its customers with clean, safe drinking water but will allow them to do it in an energy efficient manner which will save money, reduce air emissions and conserve natural resources.”
Clement said he was very appreciative to have ADEM’s support.
“I’m thankful we’ll be able to get this kind of technology because it will make the pumping process much more efficient, and it will save us money so we can save our customers money,” Clement said.
“I want to thank ADEM and TVA for all they do and our board for the hard wok they put in to making our operations run smoothly and effectively.”