Rural water projects get much-needed windfall

By Kevin Matthews
Vice President, Energy & Environment Sector

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that rural communities in 27 states will receive portions of $175.8 million in stimulus money for projects to help provide safe drinking water and improved wastewater treatment.

Until now, most of the $1.47 billion for water and environmental project loans and grants through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act have gone toward projects in the country’s urban environments. Water quality and supply issues, however, stretch from deep in the inner-city to flood plains in the middle of the country. Attention to all areas remains crucial for the future of our water quality and supply.

For example, an $8.1 million loan and a $6 million grant will pay for a new, more efficient water treatment plant to replace a nearly 100-year-old plant in Granite Falls, Minnesota. When flooding occurs, the citizens of Granite Falls are often without safe drinking water for weeks because the existing plant is situated on a flood plain. . The new plant will be built away from the flood plain and have the capacity to accommodate water usage now and in the future, when the population grows.

The plans, announced Tuesday, support the Obama administration's goal of rebuilding and revitalizing the nation's rural infrastructure and will provide reliable drinking water and sanitary waste disposal while creating and saving jobs in rural America, according to a press release.
Kevin Matthews is Vice President of Energy and Environment for NSI where he runs the day-to-day sector operations and works with clients on sustainable solutions for interfacing with state and local governments.