U.S. Rep. David Price (D-N.C.) remains optimistic after meeting with Pittsboro Mayor Cindy Perry to talk about how the federal infrastructure plan could help the town 34 miles east of Raleigh tackle its water pollution woes.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed into law last year, has $55 billion earmarked for the expansion of clean water access nationwide, the Chatham News + Record said.
“Thank you to @RepDavidEPrice for visiting Pittsboro and highlighting how federal dollars can help improve the water quality through infrastructure investment,” State Rep. Robert Reives II (D-Goldston) said in a Tweet.
Part of Price’s Jan. 28 visit was spent at Pittsboro’s water plant where the congressman and Perry filmed a video to promote the Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan.
“The infrastructure initiative from the president has a water treatment and wastewater treatment component that amounts to something like $50 billion, and $10 billion is specifically for (treatment of) per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS),” Price said in the Chatham News + Record. “I would think there would be some combination of Pittsboro pursuing that or, as part of a broader regional effort, there’s some major regional efforts underway, and we hope to have federal support with those.”
A major water source for Pittsboro is the Haw River.
Because the tributary supplies Pittsboro residents with drinking water, the Chatham News + Record reported, concerns about quality have arisen.
According to the publication, human carcinogens such as PFAS, perfluorooctane sulfonate acid (PFOS) and 1,4-Dioxane have occasionally polluted the river, prompting Pittsboro to try everything from improving the water plant to partnering with nearby communities.
The town hopes funding from the infrastructure bill would give it access to more filtration technology that’ll bring about improved water quality.
“A couple of years ago, nobody even knew what PFAS was, and now we have a $10 billion investment specifically for that forever chemical that we’ve been drinking for a while,” Perry told the Chatham News + Record.
