Summerville city leaders traveled to Washington to meet with Congressman Clay Fuller and discuss federal funding requests tied to several major infrastructure needs in the city.

Mayor Rickey Hughes, City Manager Jason Winters and Councilman Joe Money met with Congressman Fuller and his chief of staff, Spencer Hogg, to discuss funding assistance for PFAS water treatment, flood mitigation and replacement of aging natural gas infrastructure.

According to documents provided by the City of Summerville, officials are requesting $28 million for a Granular Activated Carbon filtration system at the Summerville-Raccoon Creek Water Treatment Plant. City leaders say the project is needed after PFAS levels in the city’s water supply exceeded federal limits beginning in 2020.

Additional requests include support for drainage infrastructure improvements aimed at reducing flooding in downtown Summerville and grant assistance for modernization of the city’s aging natural gas distribution system.

Mayor Rickey Hughes praised the meeting with Congressman Fuller and thanked those involved in arranging the visit.

“It’s so good to have a Congressman that will talk with constituents,” Hughes said. “We met with Congressman Clay Fuller today and requested funding for treatment of PFAS as well as flooding situations and old gas line replacement. Also a huge thank you to Kendall Keeling for giving us a great Capitol tour. We are trying our best to do great things for the City of Summerville.”

City officials say the natural gas system serves more than 4,600 residential, commercial and industrial customers across Chattooga and Floyd counties.