WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski, (both D-Md.), today announced that the Commissioners of Henderson received a $175,000 Water and Waste Disposal Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Rural Development (USDA-RD) to make emergency improvements to the Water System in Henderson, Maryland.

“Every American deserves access to clean, safe water. That takes work, work that can be difficult for small or rural communities to do on their own,” said Senator Cardin, author of S. 741, The Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Act. “The federal government should be a strong partner in ensuring towns like Henderson have the infrastructure they need to thrive.”  

 “Maryland cities and towns need to upgrade their water and sewer infrastructure but they can’t do it on their own,” Senator Mikulski said. “Rural communities need a government on their side. These funds will allow the Town of Henderson to update critical infrastructure and to restore reliable water service to all its residents.

These federal dollars will be used to make emergency improvements in the aging water system that services Henderson’s residents. On February 22, 2015, their aging water system failed to operate due to unusually cold temperatures and demand use. These demands caused the only well to fail leaving the town without water.  An out of service well was manually modified and is temporarily providing water to the town. There has been a significant decline in the quantity and quality of the water available from their water supply. Emergency repairs are necessary to return all failed components back in service to maintain the original capacity and reliability.

Senator Cardin is a member of the Environment and Public Works Water Subcommittee. Senator Mikulski is Vice Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Together they understand the economic, environmental and quality of life benefits of investing in infrastructure.

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