U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) State Director Douglas Wilson today announced that the USDA is investing over $5.6 million in loans and grants to improve water infrastructure in Illinois. This investment is a part of a larger $201 million initiative throughout 31 states across the country.
“A healthy water supply is key to the well-being of rural communities. Storm and waste water handling systems are another important part of a community’s infrastructure. Rural Development assists communities to ensure they have the resources needed, Wilson said.”
USDA is providing the funding through the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant program. Eligible applicants include rural cities, towns and water districts. The funds can be used for drinking water, stormwater drainage and waste disposal systems in rural communities with 10,000 or fewer residents.
USDA is announcing investments today in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Below are examples of projects announced today in Illinois.
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Village of Naplate., is receiving a $500,000 loan and $380,000 grant to replace 1,300 feet of water main replacements in four separate locations throughout the village. 4-inch water mains will be replaced with 6-inch water mains. The project includes the preparation of the geographic information system, mapping of the existing sanitary sewer collection, water main distribution and storm sewer systems. The project also includes video inspections of the existing sanitary sewer collection system and replacement of two sanitary sewer collection system pumping stations. The project will renovate portions of the 70-year-old water distribution system and portions of the 40-year-old sewage collection system. The village is located in a high poverty area and Rural Development funding is needed to keep user rates affordable.
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City of Mason City., is receiving a $4,795,000 loan to construct a new 21.4 million gallon-per-day combined sewer overflow pump station and new excess-flow pond at the sewage treatment plant, plus replacement of equipment. A 7-million-gallon excess-flow pond will be added for storage, which is 1.8 times the volume of the design storm overflow and will be drained back to the main pump station. The excess-flow pumps (three-1,400 gallons per minute) and main pump station raw sewage pumps (two-815 gallons per minute) would also be replaced, along with the existing excess-flow clarifier mechanism and drive. This city is in a high poverty area and the project will remedy the health and sanitary issue due to exceeding fecal coliform limits within their current system.
USDA awarded nearly $1.8 billion for Water and Environmental Program loans and grants during fiscal year 2019. View the interactive RD Apply tool or contact one of USDA Rural Development’s state or field offices for application or eligibility information.
In April 2017, President Donald J. Trump established the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to identify legislative, regulatory and policy changes that could promote agriculture and prosperity in rural communities. In January 2018, Secretary Perdue presented the Task Force’s findings to President Trump. These findings included 31 recommendations to align the federal government with state, local and tribal governments to take advantage of opportunities that exist in rural America. Increasing investments in rural infrastructure is a key recommendation of the task force.
To view the report in its entirety, please view the Report to the President of the United States from the Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity (PDF, 5.4 MB). In addition, to view the categories of the recommendations, please view the Rural Prosperity infographic (PDF, 190 KB).
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.