WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., today welcomed the award of more than $25.9 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development funding to improve water and wastewater systems in 10 rural Mississippi communities.

The funding for several communities and rural water associations is provided through the USDA Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program.  The total $25,980,300 award consists of $23,677,300 in low-interest loans and $2,303,000 in grants.

“Safe water and strong public utilities are essential to the health and wellbeing of our communities,” Wicker said.  “This additional USDA funding will support much-needed upgrades to public water and wastewater infrastructure across our state.”

“The delivery of reliable water and wastewater service requires consistent maintenance and upgrades, which can be challenging for rural communities.  Congress appropriates funding to support these USDA loans and grants to ensure rural residents, like so many in Mississippi, can receive those basic utilities,” said Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee.

The Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program is focused on eligible rural populations of 10,000 or less.  It provides funding for clean and reliable drinking water systems, sanitary sewage disposal, sanitary solid waste disposal, and storm water drainage to households and businesses.

The following loan and grant awards are going to Mississippi:

• South Central Water Association, Inc., Terry – $13,904,000 loan to support drilling a 3,000-gallon-per-minute (GPM) well.  The project also includes an elevated tank, distribution improvements, and construction of a shop.
• Hermanville Community Water Association Inc., Hermanville – $128,000 loan and $383,000 grant to support upgrading water lines, installing automatic meter-reading systems, replacing all water meters, and installing a backup generator. Funds will also support installing automatic transfer switches at well sites, replacing chlorination equipment, and installing a new supervisory control and data acquisition and system.
• Young’s Water and Sewer District, Inc., Coffeeville – $490,000 loan and $268,000 grant to support installing a 150 GPM well to replace an old well, which was near maximum capacity and beyond its useful life.
• Delta City Utility District #2, Delta City – $73,000 loan and $208,000 grant to support installing approximately 44,000 linear feet of water main pipes and upgrading the distribution system to serve new residents and resolve low water pressure issues throughout the system.
• Hurricane Creek Water Association, Inc., Abbeville – $396,000 loan and $984,000 grant to support construction of two water supply wells and a water treatment plant.
• City of Nettleton – $1,330,000 loan to support replacing the original water distribution lines built in 1935 with a system that incorporate erosion control, hydrants, service reconnections, and other improvements.
• City of Columbia – $3,886,300 loan to support installing a new gravity sewer main, new sewer manholes, a triplex sanitary sewer pumping stations.  The project also includes rehabilitation of three sanitary sewer lift stations and construction of new water main and waterworks operation building.
• Sebastopol Water Association, Sebastopol – $2,740,000 loan to support drilling a 500 GPM well, a 380,000-gallon elevated tank, a 435,000-gallon ground storage tank, and distribution improvements.
• Green Acres Water Association, Inc., Clarksdale – $352,000 loan to support installing new eight-inch sanitary sewer lines and new service connections on the existing sanitary sewer collection system in the Lane Acres Subdivision.
• East Chickasaw Water Association, Inc., Okolona – $378,000 loan and $460,000 grant to support drilling a new well at a new site near Highway 32 to alleviate existing pressure and supply issues in the western portion of the system.