FRANKFORT, KY (May 9, 2008) - Gov. Steve Beshear presented the City of Manchester with a ceremonial check today commemorating the award of a $1,000,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). The funds will be used towards the design and construction of a new water treatment plant to serve all of Clay County.

"Words can't describe what this (new water treatment plant) will mean to the people out in rural areas of the county where wells dried up and caved in during last year's drought," said Manchester Mayor Carmen Lewis. "We sincerely appreciate the governor's assistance with this additional funding and his recognition of the importance of safe drinking water for our community."

The existing water plant currently operates over 80% of its design capacity for 22.2 hours per day, leaving an inadequate amount of time for routine preventative maintenance. The new facility, which will be located at Bert T. Combs Lake, will have an initial capacity to treat 3.2 million gallons per day (MGD) with the ability to treat 4.0 MGD as customer growth demands.

"Good, clean drinking water is a fundamental need and we must all work together to ensure that need is fullfilled," said Gov. Beshear. "Local, State and Federal funds are all being used for the betterment of this community and the citizens of Manchester and Clay County."

First Lady Jane Beshear and Commissioner Tony Wilder, from the Governor's Office for Local Development (GOLD), accompanied the governor to Manchester.

During his visit, the governor also announced his recommendation for the approval of a $500,000 Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grant that will contribute to the $6,159,500 total cost of Manchester's water project. ARC is a federal-state economic development program used to assist Kentucky's Appalachian region through a variety of projects including public infrastructure.

ARC grant applications are submitted to GOLD for review and require the governor's recommendation before submission for final federal approval. GOLD administers all ARC and CDBG grants.