PARIS – The Paris Utility District has received about $3 million in federal grants and loans to build a new reservoir and start upgrading its wastewater treatment plant.

It is the first of a three-phase project that could cost as much as $15 million and take three to five years.

The new 800,000-gallon reservoir, to be built on Clark Hill, will cost about $1.2 million. The district received an $800,000 loan and a $419,705 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development program.

After E. coli bacteria was detected in the district’s water last fall, resulting in a boil water order, a number of structural weaknesses were discovered in the old reservoir.

Since then, that reservoir has been turned off.

“It will give us our volume capacity back,” district Manager Steve Arnold said Wednesday. “And there will be more water for fire protection.”

He said the new reservoir should be finished by next summer at the latest. Following its hookup, Arnold said he will start discussing with state officials the possibility of stopping the chlorination of the water system, or at least reducing the chemical presence to a trace.

“We’ve had some folks say they can smell the chlorine,” Arnold said.

The Paris water system was known for its pristine water, untouched by chlorine, setting it apart from neighboring towns. But after the E. coli was detected, the system had to be chlorinated.

The wastewater treatment facility is 30 years old, Arnold said, and another $990,000 loan and $810,000 grant will go toward phase one of a three-phase project to upgrade the plant.

“Basically, we’re having some problems meeting license requirements,” Arnold said. “Normally, most treatment facilities are upgraded every 20 years to keep up with ever-changing regulations.”

The district is applying for other grants to offset the cost increases, Arnold said.

Last spring, drinking water rates jumped 42 percent for utility customers, the first increase in 10 years.

The last increase for sewer rates was in 2003.