The City of Goldsboro has been awarded $610,000 in grant funds through the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Infrastructure to explore the future expansion of the wastewater system.

The City will receive $260,000 in Viable Utility Reserve grant funding.

This grant program provides funding to build a path toward viable utility systems using long-term solutions for distressed water and wastewater units in North Carolina.

This grant funding will pay for Phase 2 of the Merger/Regionalization Feasibility Study. The City already treats sewage from other municipalities and the County. However, the phase 2 study would provide a detailed analysis of the feasibility of a merged system under the City of Goldsboro or a regional water and sewer authority.

Without this study, it’s impossible to know the expected costs of creating a merged system versus a new regional water and sewer authority. The remaining $350,000 in grant funding will be used to develop a regional wastewater master plan, which will evaluate, among other things, future wastewater capacity needs.

“As the City moves forward with planning the expansion of its wastewater treatment facility, these new studies will prove invaluable to understanding our future growth needs in addition to the viability, options, and cost effectiveness for expanded regional sewer in Wayne County,” said Interim City Manager Matt Livingston.

In addition to studying the feasibility of regionalization, the City of Goldsboro is planning for the expansion of the Water Reclamation Facility.