Ryan Taylor, USDA Rural Development state director, announced today that three recipients will receive loan and grant funding for water infrastructure projects across North Dakota.
“Water is such a basic part of each day that we sometimes take it for granted. When we turn on the faucet, we just expect to see clean, healthy, drinkable water,” Taylor said. “But good water comes from a lot of hard work and investment. Rural Development is proud to supply a lot of the investment dollars necessary so community leaders can assure residents that the water will flow when they turn the spigot.”
USDA is investing $6.4 million in the water and wastewater infrastructure projects through Rural Development’s Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program. The program provides technical assistance and financing to develop drinking water and waste disposal systems for communities with 10,000 or fewer residents. The following list is a breakdown of the funding recipients.
Barnes Rural Water District: $625,000 loan. The funding will continue work to expand water services to 214 users in the City of Kathryn and surrounding area.
City of Oakes: $480,000 loan and $607,500 grant. The funding will be used for reconstruction of several internal and external dikes for the lagoon and for new water meters.
Southeast Water Users District: $4,709,000 loan. The funding will be used for a system-wide expansion that has potential to add 550 new users.
Since 2010, USDA Rural Development in North Dakota has financed over $111 million to improve water and wastewater systems in more than 40 cities, tribal reservations or water districts. For more information on USDA Rural Development programs, please visit http://www.rd.usda.gov/nd.