10 Communities Share $14M for Water, Wastewater Projects

The Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Commission awarded $14 million to 10 communities for water and wastewater projects serving more than 8,256 people.

The projects are:

• The town of Aubrey in Lee County received a $103,000 loan and a $103,000 grant to replace two sewer substations. 

• The city of Fifty-Six in Stone County received a $396,552 loan and a $2.2 million loan with principal forgiveness to install 4.5 miles of water main.

• The city of Louann in Ouachita County received an $87,669 loan to replace an existing water well. 
• The Village Water Association in Columbia County received a $281,528 loan and a $120,655 loan with principal forgiveness to make improvements to its existing water tank. 

• The city of Dumas in Desha County received funds for two separate projects in Mitchellville and Winchester. Winchester got a $172,525 loan to fund the planning and design for installation of a new sanitary sewer line work connecting Winchester to Dumas. The Mitchellville project received a $2.4 million loan and a $1.6 million loan with principal forgiveness to fund a new sanitary sewer connection between Mitchellville and Dumas. 

• The Lawson-Urbana Public Water Authority in Union County received a $1.1 million loan to construct a new water well.

• The Lost Bridge Village Water & Sewer Improvements District No. 1 & 2 in Benton County received a $1.4 million loan and a $1.4 million loan with principal forgiveness for a new wastewater treatment plant.

• The Illinois River Watershed Partnership in Benton, Crawford and Washington counties received a $281,885 grant and a $1 million loan with principal forgiveness for the commission’s Septic Tank Remediation Program. 

• The Ozark Water Watch in Benton, Washington, Madison, Carroll, Boone, Newton and Franklin counties received a $1 million loan with principal forgiveness and a loan for $261,620 for the commission’s Septic Tank Remediation Program. 

• The City of Helena West-Helena in Phillips County received a $77,250 loan to repair the failing exterior levee walls of the pond at the sewage treatment facility.