Two local communities are among several receiving USDA funding to provide clean drinking water to customers and help with sanitary wastewater systems.
Alta Municipal Utilities is getting a loan of 10.4 million dollars and a grant of 2.9 million dollars to provide clean drinking water to the City of Alta. A reverse osmosis treatment facility will be constructed, and asbestos cement pipes will be replaced to bring the distribution system up to modern standards. The project will mitigate health risks for water maintenance and construction workers, as well as enable the City of Alta to meet water quality goals. The project will also promote the health and safety of city residents, as well as residents in the Nokomis Township.
The City of Linn Grove is receiving a 994 thousand dollar loan and 1.7 million dollar grant to help them connect with Iowa Lakes Regional Water’s bulk-treated water supply. The project will replace old distribution piping, services, and meters to increase the system’s reliability and pressure. Linn Grove has a “do-not drink” restriction in place due to high manganese levels in the current well supply.
In all, six rural Iowa communities are receiving over 26 million dollars for water projects between loans and grants. The funding builds on the 5.8 billion dollar bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for clean water from the Environmental Protection Agency.
