Neal Announces $1,092,000 in Federal Funding for Blandford Water Treatment and Distribution System Upgrades

Blandford, MA - Today, Congressman Richard E. Neal joined Blandford Town Administrator Cristina Ferrera, Select Board Chair Jackie Coury, and Water Commission Chair Brad Curry to announce $1,092,000 in federal funding for water treatment and distribution system upgrades. This allocation was made possible through community project funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Small, Underserved, and Disadvantaged Communities Grant Program. Congressman Neal included funding for this project in the Fiscal Year 2026 spending bill.

"It's a privilege to be in Blandford and to join town officials in announcing this much needed investment for these vital pieces of community infrastructure. This is about the basics: ensuring families and children in every community can access the same high public health standards." Congressman Neal said. "Everyone should be able to trust the safety and reliability of the water system they rely on for daily needs, and funding like this will make all of us healthier and safer."

This project will comprehensively upgrade the Water Treatment Facility and distribution system to achieve permit compliance, ensure safe, reliable drinking water, and strengthen fire protection for the residents of Blandford and travelers using the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Service Plaza on I-90.

"On behalf of the Town of Blandford, we are deeply grateful to Congressman Neal and his office for their support in helping secure this important funding for our community. For a small rural town like Blandford, investments in water infrastructure are not simply capital projects; they are matters of public health, regulatory compliance, emergency preparedness, and basic municipal sustainability. Blandford is held to the same public health and drinking water standards as much larger communities, but we must meet those obligations with a fraction of the staffing, rate base, and financial capacity." Town Administrator Cristina Ferrera said. "This funding allows us to move forward with a critical project that will strengthen the reliability of our water system and help address Safe Drinking Water Act compliance needs. We are sincerely appreciative of this assistance, and we also hope this visit highlights the continuing reality faced by small towns across Western Massachusetts: the need is real, the mandates are significant, and timely funding support can make the difference between a community being able to act proactively or being forced to respond only after a problem becomes urgent."

The Town is currently using approximately $290,000 of this funding for the installation of a new skid-mounted Packaged Generator System, which will assist Safe Drinking Water Act compliance and improve the reliability of the Town's drinking water system.

Under guidelines issued by the Senate and House Appropriations Committees, members of Congress requested community project funding for projects in their state for Fiscal Year 2026. Requests were restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams, and only state and local governments, and eligible non-profit entities, were permitted to receive CDS funding. This project is one of fifteen projects submitted by Congressman Neal, investing in a variety of initiatives throughout the First Congressional District of Massachusetts.

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