The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Virginia Rural Development office today announced it has approved a $1.5 million low-interest direct loan for the Town of Pearisburg that will help it improve water system operations.
“Ensuring there is a reliable, clean water supply in rural Virginia is vital,” said Janice Stroud-Bickes, Virginia’s USDA Rural Development Acting State Director. “We work with towns like Pearisburg across Virginia to help find solutions to water issues because establishing and stabilizing adequate access to water is the foundation for healthy living, strong quality of life and positive economic development.”
USDA Rural Development funds will be used to make needed improvements to the town’s existing sewer system. The system experiences excessive inflow and infiltration, causing raw sewer overflows that create health hazards. This project will correct the health hazard and will include installation of approximately 6,000 linear feet of sewer line, 38 manholes, and 56 sewer service reconnections. In addition, the existing chlorine gas disinfection system will be replaced with an enclosed UV disinfection system. The sewer system serves approximately 1,200 residential and 150 commercial connections.
Pearisburg received an $11,200 USDA Predevelopment Planning Grant for this project in 2016.
Funding announced today is made available through the USDA Rural Development Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program, which 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.
In 2016, USDA Rural Development in Virginia invested in 38 water and environmental projects totaling more than $50 million in loans and grants.
Funding of the award announced today is contingent upon the recipient meeting the terms of the loan.