The City of Hiawatha was awarded $500,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to replace aging drinking water mains along Robins Road and Pirie Drive. Water main breaks and leaks over the past 20 years have negatively impacted the low-to-moderate income residents living in this Hiawatha neighborhood. ECICOG assisted the city with an income survey to define the project service area and completed the CDBG Water / Sewer grant application for the July 2023 round.
The funding will help the city keep future water and sewer rate increases lower. Marty Recker, Hiawatha Water Superintendent, said, "Thank you to ECICOG for your hard work and persistence in writing the application for the CDBG funds that were awarded to Hiawatha. This will be so beneficial to the citizens, city and water department." Hiawatha already plans to work with ECICOG on another Water / Sewer CDBG application to replace additional water mains in low to moderate income neighborhoods.
Contact Meagan Prestegard or Jennifer Fencl for more information about how your community could benefit from this CDBG program.