NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 22, 2020 - The Trump Administration today announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $268 million to modernize rural drinking water and wastewater infrastructure across 28 states. Tennessee Rural Development State Director Jim Tracy is pleased to announce nearly $5.8 million in loans and grants for investments in rural Tennessee.
“Access to adequate, clean water can often times be taken for granted, but it is truly vital to the prosperity of our rural communities,” Tracy said. “We are excited to partner with these communities to ensure that they have the necessary water infrastructure to meet the needs of citizens and businesses.”
Background:
USDA is funding 76 projects through the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program. These investments will help to improve rural water infrastructure for 267,000 residents. In Tennessee:
- The city of Tennessee Ridge will use a $416,900 loan to allow the repair of three existing water tanks that are in poor condition in the city of Tennessee Ridge. The city proposes to rehabilitate the interior and exterior coatings of the by cleaning, and painting each tank, as well as repairing or replacing tank appurtenances such as safety climbs, floats, and vents. The water tanks are essential to providing safe drinking water to the residents of the city.
- Gibson County Municipal Water District will use a $545,000 loan to construct a new Water Treatment Plant in the Goat City area of Gibson County Municipal Water District's service area, as well as install Automated Read Meters throughout the system. Currently, the Goat City area has a higher demand than the existing water plant can sustain. The need to keep the existing plant in service and construct a new plant is the most efficient and financially reasonable choice. The new plant will include a new clear well, two high service pumps, an aerator, two new wells, and controls. The plant will be sized to meet current and future demands.
- Holston Utility District will use a $2.4 million loan and $787,900 grant to construct 20,660 linear feet of water line and associated appurtenances, one new pump station, one 130,000-gallon water storage tank, two pressure-reducing valves and vaults, one pressure-reducing/sustaining valve and vault, and system wide telemetry. In addition, improvements will include the upgrade of one water pump station, replacement of all customer service meters, and replacement of approximately 9,850 linear feet of six-inch and smaller waterline.
- The town of Atwood will use an $1.3 million loan to fund water system improvements to the town of Atwood. The town has proposed the construction of a new water supply well, rehabilitating equipment at the water treatment plant and rehab of their existing 50,000-gallon elevated storage tank.
- The city of Crossville will use a $419,500 loan to construct a new 500,000-gallon elevated storage facility. This tank site will be located north of I-40 just off Hwy 127N. This region is one of the fastest growing regions of Crossville's water system. Furthermore, no additional storage has been added to this region in 15 years. Project completion will provide this region of the Crossville distribution system with more than 24-hour storage during peak demand and approximately 48 hours during normal demand days. The proposed project will require minimum piping to extend to the proposed tank site.
The investments that USDA announced today are being made in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.
To learn more about investment resources for rural areas, interested parties should contact their USDA Rural Development state office.
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/tn.
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