In 2017, Union City, Indiana, started working on a project to upgrade its wastewater treatment facility. A visit from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management revealed that the city's treatment facility was not in compliance with several health and sanitation policies, prompting the need for improvements. After a long and arduous journey, the city secured a loan of $8,344,000 and a grant of $4,685,000 from the USDA Rural Development for the Water and Waste Disposal Project. This was a much-needed relief for the city and a huge victory for everyone involved.

The project involved upgrading the city's water and waste disposal systems, including constructing new water treatment plants, replacing old pipes, and installing new sewer lines. The improvements also included the addition of new waste management facilities that would help to reduce environmental problems in the area.

Union City Mayor Chad Spence said, “The wastewater treatment facility plant, while certainly maybe not glamorous on the surface, but it's so critical. When anybody ever turns on a faucet or flushes a toilet, they like to know with confidence that everything is going to where it's supposed to be going and processed properly. It's something we really don't think about, but the beauty of it is when it's working properly, it's something we don't have to think about.”

Because of the loan and grant combination, the city was able to significantly impact its infrastructure. The project was a testament to the hard work and dedication of the city and USDA Rural Development Indiana. It ensured residents of Union City could enjoy clean and safe water and that the city could continue to thrive for years to come.

Spence also noted, “We were able to see the project through to its completion. Now there are still some tweaks being made here and there to the facility to finish out the project entirely. But what we have now is a shining star, an example, if you will, of what's possible in a small community through the support of an entity like Rural Development to help make things like this possible.”