News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Suez Utility Manager Mike Glowinski on Tuesday explains how an air relief valve connected to the clear well at the city water plant operates. As the wells fill with water, air is forced up and out of the wells. The city is attempting to acquire millions of dollars to replace the pair of 500,000-gallon wells, which were built in 1922 and 1935.

ALPENA — City officials are pursuing a federal grant of between $4 million and $6 million to replace a pair of aging clear wells at the city water treatment plant.

The money is being sought from the Defense Communities Infrastructure Program through the U.S. Defense Department’s Office of Economic Adjustment. The grants are geared toward communities with military bases, such as the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center.

Because Alpena is a rural community, it is not required to meet a 50% match requirement, City Engineer Rich Sullenger said. Rural communities may have no match at all, but the city intends to offer to pay 20% of the cost — $800,000 to $1.2 million — to make the proposal more attractive and more likely to be accepted.

“It shows them that we have skin in the game and also how big of a need it is,” Sullenger said.

Officials expect about $50 million in grants to be available for infrastructure. Projects must enhance the military value, resiliency, and military family quality of life, according to the Defense Department’s website for the program.

City officials believe the wells project is a good candidate for funding.

Sullenger said each well works as a holding tank for water that will be pumped out into the system. Each well can hold 500,000 gallons of water, but the amount held fluctuates during the day as demand increases and decreases.

The city hopes to install tanks capable of holding 750,000 gallons each.

Sullenger said the city has known for years that the concrete wells, which are underground, need to be replaced. One was built in 1922 and the other in 1935. Cracks were repaired in about 2008, but those repairs are about to reach the end of their expected lifespan.

“It’s not a matter of if we need to replace them, it is a matter of when,” Sullenger said. “If we are able to get this funding, it will be a huge relief, financially, because, if we don’t, we would likely have to do bonds, and then it becomes an issue of (water) rates, because we will have the bond payment.”

Initial design plans estimate the project could cost more than $6 million, but Sullenger said it may be able to be shaved down into the $4 million range.

The city could find out as early as August if the federal government might fund the project.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.