Two Trumbull County communities are getting more than a million dollars each from the state for water and sewage projects.

Governor Mike DeWine’s office has announced $122.7 million in grant awards to help improve water infrastructure in 59 counties, including two $550,000-plus grants provided to Niles and West Farmington of Trumbull County.

The funding is part of the sixth round of the Ohio BUILDS (Broadband, Utilities, and Infrastructure for Local Development Success) Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Grant Program. Funding will provide $84.5 million in support of 43 new critical infrastructure projects and $38.2 million in gap funding for 33 previously funded projects with costs that exceeded initial estimates.

The City of Niles will receive a $550,000 grant to complete a waterline replacement on Salt Springs Road. Project activities include replacing approximately 1,900 feet of an existing 8-inch waterline with a new 8-inch PVC waterline. Additionally, fire hydrants will be replaced, and new valves for future isolation will be installed. The city has experienced eight waterline breaks on this line within the past two years, indicating the line has reached the end of its useful life. The project will benefit 3,500 people.

The Village of West Farmington will receive $591,690 in gap funding to install a septage receiving station that will serve wide surrounding properties throughout several Trumbull County townships, as well as surrounding counties without sewer service. The village's treatment facilities consist of on-lot septic and holding systems, private package plants, and current disposal/discharge sites, which are a considerable distance away with costly travel time and discharge fees.

The proposed station will have an automatic receiving and monitoring station system with a keypad reader, automated valve, rock trap, flow meter, pumps, and controls within a small, prefabricated building. The project will benefit 10,000 people, according to the media release.

"The investments we've made through this program have been transformational in many Ohio communities," said Governor DeWine. "The projects we're funding are about more than new pipes - they're about protecting the health and wellbeing of Ohioans across the state."

Since 2021, the Ohio BUILDS Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Grant Program has provided a total of nearly $620 million to support hundreds of local water projects in all of Ohio's 88 counties.