MARION — The Town of Marion is planning to grow its ability to provide clean, safe drinking water to local residents with the construction of a new water treatment facility, well and other water improvements.

In a regularly scheduled board meeting Tuesday, Town Engineer Shawn Miles announced that the town was awarded a $3.4 million grant through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 592 program to fund the project.

“We’re really excited about that,” he said. “Like I said, $3.4 million, that’s probably the biggest project we’ve had in the town since I’ve been involved.”

Miles said the new water treatment facility will be able to process 600 gallons of water per minute, which will more than double the town’s capabilities. The current plant, he said, processes 400 gallons per minute.

Adding a second water treatment plant will not only increase capacity and allow for future growth of the town. Miles said it will also provide needed redundancy in the town’s critical infrastructure.

“It’s going to give us a more reliable source of water,” he said. “You know, we’ve been really lucky having only one plant. If that plant goes down, we’re in a bind.”

Mayor Larry Gill said the plant will have generational impact in Marion.

“I think this is very monumental, for sure,” he said. “This is something where we had an opportunity to make an impact for generations.”

Once complete, Gill said, the town’s water services will be able to provide better service to Marion residents and businesses in the Sonny Montgomery Industrial park. The additional capacity, he said, will also help set up the town for future families and businesses to come into the area.

“We’re very excited about this opportunity to enhance the quality of life for our residents and business community,” he said. “This is a game changer for Marion and all of Lauderdale county.”

In the coming weeks, Miles said the Corps of Engineers will be working with Marion to do an environmental impact study of the proposed location. Construction on the new plant, he said, could begin later this year.

The Section 592 program, which is run out of the Corps of Engineers District Office in Vicksburg, will cover 75 percent of the costs of the new facility. The Town of Marion will be responsible for the remaining percent.