The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has agreed to provide a total of $116m in rebuild and improve rural water infrastructure in 23 states in the US.
Image: The USDA is supporting 49 water and environmental infrastructure projects. Photo courtesy of PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay.
The USDA is supporting 49 water and environmental infrastructure projects and is working with local partners to provide the financing. The funding will be provided through Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant program. It can be used for facilitating drinking water, stormwater drainage and waste disposal systems for rural communities with 10,000 or fewer residents.
The department is investing in rural communities across Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Washington.
USDA is providing a loan of $2.3m in Arkansas, Lake City, where wastewater treatment and collection system, serving more than 2,000 residents will be modernized. This project will improve the system’s capacity and reliability.
Rensselaer, Indiana is being given $3.4m loan and $1.7m grant to connect three unserved areas of the city to the sewer system and to replace the main lift station.
The city of Franklin, Idaho is receiving $900,000 loan and $522,000 grant from USDA to increase the supply of water to the Franklin Water System. The money will be used in rehabilitating the city’s water storage and spring boxes and about two miles of pipe connecting the springs to the water system will be replaced.
Rural Development Secretary’s Acting Assistant Joel Baxley said: “Helping to bring modern water and wastewater infrastructure to rural communities will increase economic opportunities and improve the quality of life for rural residents. The investments USDA is announcing today are foundational to health, safety and economic development in rural communities across America.”
Last year, the department invested $1.2bn for rebuilding and improving rural water infrastructure across 46 states.
The department has agreed to offer finances for 234 water and environmental infrastructure projects through the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant program. The funding can be used for drinking water, stormwater drainage and waste disposal systems for rural communities where 10,000 or fewer residents live.