LIVERMORE FALLS – The town manager has been notified that Livermore Falls qualifies for $406,000 in a grant and low-interest loan for sewer work.

Maine’s Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both Republicans, announced Wednesday that the town qualified for rural development funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The town is eligible for a $182,700 grant and a $223,300 loan to replace a 100-year-old clay sewer main, which served a population of 3,227, according to the senators’ press release.

Town Manager Alan Gove said officials have been seeking grants in an effort to be ahead of the Department of Transportation’s proposed road improvements on Route 4 from Bridge Street in Livermore Falls to Pineau Street in Jay. The road project is tentatively scheduled for 2006.

The Sewer Department and the Livermore Falls Water District have been looking for funding assistance to replace sewer and water lines while the road is dug up, he said.

Town officials plan to seek more grants to reduce the amount of the loan needed to replace the 2,500-foot sanitary sewer main, he said.