Projects Will Improve Rural Water Infrastructure for 13,000 Rural Residents and Businesses
STEVENS POINT, Wis., Oct., 27, 2020 - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wisconsin Rural Development State Director Frank Frassetto announced that USDA is investing $891 million to modernize rural drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in 43 states.
“Upgrading water infrastructure provides a path to economic growth for our smaller communities and protects the health and safety of people who live and work in rural areas,” Frassetto said. “Under the leadership of President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Perdue, we have been working tirelessly to be a reliable partner to rural Wisconsin in building stronger and healthier communities, because we know when rural America thrives, all of America thrives.”
These 220 projects will help improve rural water infrastructure for 787,000 residents. The projects are being funded through the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program. This program provides funding for clean and reliable drinking water systems, sanitary sewage disposal, sanitary solid waste disposal and storm water drainage to households and businesses in eligible rural areas with populations of 10,000 or less.
In Wisconsin:
- The Village of LaValle is receiving a $620,000 loan and a $445,000 grant to upgrade and expand the Village's water system. The village has benzene contaminants in their only water source and will be using the funds to pay for temporary treatment of water until a suitable new well site is found. Funds will also be used for well site investigation, testing and the construction of a new well and well house. The higher than normal levels of benzene the village is experiencing is resulting in a health and sanitary issue for the community water system. This funding will be supplemented with a $1,000,000 USDA Emergency Community Water Assistance Grant.
- The City of Osseo will receive a $7.6 million loan and a $750,000 grant to upgrade the City's wastewater treatment system. The existing 1961 system that was upgraded in 1985 and 2001, has several unit processes that have either exceeded their useful life, are operating over design capacity, experiencing operational issues or were not designed to comply with future phosphorus limits. This project includes significant improvements to the system including upgrades to the outdated equipment that has reached its useful life and improvements to lift stations. The wastewater treatment facility upgrade will also address a number of issues in terms of meeting permit requirements which pertain to an overall health and safety issue as it relates to the environment and will create a more energy efficient, cost effective and safer facility.
- The City of Eagle River will receive a $1.8 million loan to upgrade the wastewater treatment facility (WWTF). This project will install disinfection systems at the WWTF and complete a feasibility study of leachate pretreatment and treatment at the WWTF and nearby landfill. Also included in this project is replacement of equipment that will positively impact efforts to optimize biological phosphorus removal. The WWTF has been receiving landfill leachate and it recently experienced difficulty meeting permit limits because of the increased volumes of leachate. This funding will be supplemented with $1,000,000 from Community Development Block Grant funds and was the result of a USDA SEARCH grant in 2019.
- The Village of Coon Valley is receiving a $2.4 million loan to upgrade water and sewer services on several streets within the Village. The existing underground facilities are in poor condition and have reached the end of their useful life. Infrastructure was originally installed in the 1930's and have been added onto through the 1980's. The deteriorating water mains have had 14 breaks over the past several years, with five breaks since 2015, which in turn have caused the streets to deteriorate. This project will include replacing the existing water mains and services with iron and copper pipe services to provide better fire flow with new valves and water services. The project will also repair a cluster of severely deteriorated streets with aging infrastructure. The sanitary sewer and manholes in this section of the Village are also in need of replacement or repair to reduce infiltration and backups within the system. The proposed reconstruction will replace clay sanitary sewer pipe and reroute sewer lines that cross adjoining properties. It will also include road reconstruction as a result of the utility replacement. This funding will be supplemented with $1,000,000 from Community Development Block Grant funds.
- The City of Clintonville is receiving a $1.7 million loan and a $370,000 grant to upgrade the water and sewer systems in two sections of the city. Cast iron water mains from 1934, hydrants over 60 years old and clay sewer pipe dating back to the 1920's need replacement due to deteriorating conditions with water main breaks and sewer leaks. The water and sewer mains will be replaced along with portions of service laterals which fall in the street right away and road reconstruction will also be completed. This funding will be supplemented with $715,000 from Community Development Block Grant funds.
- The City of Cumberland is receiving a $1.6 million loan to upgrade the City's water system. The city needs to extend the drinking water distribution system to serve the hospital, which will start construction on a new location in the spring of 2021 on a property that was recently annexed into the city. This project will be done in conjunction with a sewer utility extension to the same area. The extension of the utilities is vital for the hospital and is critical for residential growth on the northwest side of the city as well.
- The Village of Mason is receiving a $370,000 loan and $1.1 million grant to upgrade Village’s wastewater treatment facility. The facility has issues with excess inflow and infiltration due in large part to the excess rainfall and the system not being big enough to handle the flow. The operation of the spray irrigation system has had to be modified from the original design to address greater than average discharge volumes, causing the system to be overloaded which has resulted in surface runoff from the discharge field and violation of the village's discharge permit. The system will be upgraded to correct deficiencies including: reduction in hydraulic loading to provide the required resting periods and control of surface run off; the pump, which is nearing the end of its useful life, will be rebuilt to ensure continued performance; a new transfer pump will be installed to transfer treated wastewater to the proposed irrigation system and a cold storage building will be constructed to house irrigation equipment, other equipment and utility vehicles. This project was a result of a USDA SEARCH grant funded earlier this year.
- The Village of Sharon will receive a $4.7 million loan and a $1.9 million grant to upgrade the village’s wastewater treatment facility (WWTF). The village plans to replace mechanical and electrical instrumentation, aeration blowers, pumps, clarifier equipment, fiberglass dome structure and add additional sludge storage. Upgrades will also include new phosphorus treatment equipment that will be needed to meet new water quality requirements. The current WWTF has no treatment for the incoming phosphorus, dates back to the 1920's and consists of several sewer mains, manholes and service laterals that need replacement and upgrades. These improvements are needed more than ever due to high intensity rain events that caused major flooding and resulted in sewer backups.
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov/wi, call us at 715-345-7600 or email wi-rd-stateoffice@usda.gov.
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