State Director for Rural Development John Rounsaville today announced that USDA is investing in 40 projects in 20 states to improve rural water infrastructure.
“Improving water and wastewater infrastructure helps support economic development and improves Mississippian's quality of life by ensuring rural areas have safe and abundant water supplies,” Rounsaville said.
USDA is investing $82 million through the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant program. Rural communities, water districts and other eligible entities can use the funds for drinking water, stormwater drainage and waste disposal systems. The projects must be in rural communities with 10,000 or fewer residents.
View the interactive RD Apply tool or contact one of USDA Rural Development’s state or field offices for application or eligibility information.
USDA is announcing investments today in several states, including Mississippi, which will go towards:
- Ingomar Water Association Inc. received a loan of $229,000, which will be used to replace approximately 900 water meters with radio read meters, and upgrades and improvements to more than 26,000 linear feet of service lines. This investment will benefit more than 900 residential and non-residential consumers by providing improved water service.
- Clara Water Association Inc. received a loan of $1,134,100 to construct two water supply wells with associated water transmission mains and a generator for backup power for the wells. Before, aging infrastructure created a lack of a water supply at adequate pressures, which presented potential for health threats in violation of health department requirements. Now, more than 600 customers have a continuous backup power supply in the event of well failure or power outages, with energy consumption and costs reduced while providing a safe and clean potable water supply.
- Coahoma County Utility District # 2 received a loan and grant combination of $1,029,000, which will be used to build a 300-gallon-per-minute water supply well, a 30,000-gallon pressure tank, a concrete block well house and install an emergency standby generator. In addition, 223 customers will have their meters replaced with automatic read meters. These improvements will enable the district to provide its own water supply, control rates, and improve water quality.
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.