LEXINGTON, Va. – Millions of dollars in federal funds will help to ensure people living in Lexington and parts of Rockbridge County will continue to have clean, safe water.
The Maury Service Authority serves upwards of 10,000 people with their water supply and water treatment.
To ensure the stability of the area’s water infrastructure, Senator Mark Warner has helped to provide $3 million of federal funding to help update the facility.
“A lot of the businesses in the community, from breweries to equine centers, need access to clean, potable water, and they will have it now because of this funding,” said Senator Warner.
The water pumping system currently in place at Maury Service Authority was built in 1975.
The funds from Senator Warner will be used to build a new, updated water pump to meet the area’s demand.
“We are getting to the end of that useful life of this structure. And we are also currently standing in the flood plane so part of what that $3 million is going to help us do is increase the reliability and resiliency of this pump station,” said Jordan Combs, executive director of Maury Service Authority.
Without these vital updates, officials say the pump could fail, which has happened as recently as last year.
If the pump fails, the water authority has to rely on its treated water that’s saved in reservoirs.
“If we were to have a scenario where we couldn’t access the water out of the river, there is only a two-to-four-day supply of treated water which is not a very long time,” said Combs.