Federal funds provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will help provide safe drinking water and improved wastewater treatment systems for two Northwest Missouri communities.
“Aging water and waste infrastructure systems threaten the ability of rural communities to provide clean, reliable drinking water,” Tom Vilsack, U.S. agriculture secretary, said in a conference call.
The two projects are in Plattsburg, Mo., and Atchison County, in the extreme northwest corner of Missouri, and will total $27.3 million. Funding is contingent upon their meeting the loan or grant agreement terms.
Plattsburg has been working on a water plant expansion for four or five years. The mayor and council decided last fall to pay for the engineering from existing funds.
“This is no free lunch because the city will have to abide by all the stimulus requirements,” said D.J. Gehrt, Plattsburg city manager. “And the million is contingent on borrowing the $4.3 million.”
A decision will probably have to be reached in 60 to 90 days, Mr. Gehrt said. Plattsburg could be bidding in early September to double the capacity of the water plant and the transmission lines that serve four other water districts in a 300-square-mile area, Mr. Gehrt said.
The larger of the two grants will go to the Atchison County Wholesale Water Commission in the form of a $10 million grant and a $12 million loan. The commission serves the communities of Fairfax, Rock Port and Tarkio as well as Public Water Supply District No. 1, which serves all of Atchison County. The commission’s board has been working on the water project for four years.
The money will be used for new wells and a water treatment plant, said Kyra Mills, chairwoman of the commission. Members will be contributing another $2 million they received last year from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Ms. Mills said.
The USDA Rural Development’s water and environmental program provides loans and grants to ensure that the necessary investments are made in water and wastewater infrastructure to deliver safe drinking water and protect the environment.
Marshall White can be reached at marshall@npgco.com.