Bits & Pieces - krwa.net

1 116 THE KANSAS LIFELINE July 2008 Bits & Piecestotal of $ million in funding for Kansaswater projects has been approved by USDAR ural DevelopmentEarlier this spring, USDA RuralDevelopment State Director Chuck Banksannounced today that the Agency approved$16,124,600 in first-half Fiscal Year 2008 fundingfor nine rural water service and sewer projectsserving Kansas. The approved funding, splitbetween $11,790,500 in loans and $4,334,100 ingrants, will support the construction and/orcompletion of the important infrastructure projectsthat will provide long-term benefits to over 6,700 Kansans living in nine communities or service areas. USDA Rural Development s Water & WasteDisposal Program is one of the most importantcommunity and economic development efforts thisAgency undertakes. These USDA funds, combinedwith the Agency s technical assistance whichsupports local leadership, helps make these criticallyneeded services a reality. It is important that ruralKansans keep pace with their basic need to haveaccess to safe and reliable water , this valuable USDA program promoteseconomic growth and enhances the quality of lifefor the area residents served by these projects andall of Kansas, commented State Director Banks.

2 The nine new construction projects approved forfunding by USDA Rural Development follows:Circleville:$580,000 ($255,000 direct loan and$325,000 grant) This project will consist ofinstalling new water lines, fire hydrants, andvalves for the benefit of 185 city residents. Theproject will also include constructing a new watertower. USDA Rural Development funding will beleveraged with a $370,000 CommunityDevelopment Block :$1,365,000 ($688,000 direct loan and$677,000 grant) The project, benefiting 500residents, will replace the city s corroded cast ironwater lines with new lines, install new firehydrants, and rehabilitate the existing elevatedwater storage tank. USDA Rural Developmentfunding will be complemented with a $400,000 Community Development Block :$455,100 ($286,000 direct loan and$169,100 grant) The project, benefiting 608 ruralresidents, will construct a new elevated waterstorage tank and install pressure reducing valveson some of the meters. USDA Rural Developmentfunding will be combined with a $304,900 Community Development Block Rapids:$780,000 ($608,000 directloan and $172,000 grant) The project will converta three-cell lagoon system into a four-cell lagoonsystem for 274 city residents.

3 The project willalso consist of installing new force main, newcollection lines, and improvements to a liftstation. USDA Rural Development funding willbe leveraged with a $400,000 CommunityDevelopment Block :$3,268,000 ($2,187,000 direct loan and$1,081,000 grant) Funding of this project, whichwill benefit a population of 704 residents, will beused for installation of new water lines,installation of fire hydrants, and construction of awater tower. USDA Rural Development fundingwill be complemented with a $400,000 Community Development Block :$4,150,000 ($3,199,000 direct loanand $951,000 grant) Funding of this project, whichwill benefit a population of 1165, will repair thecity s sewer collection system by installing newreplacement pipe in approximately 25% of thesystem and rehabilitating the balance of the lines inthe system. The project will also consist ofrehabilitating or replacing most of the Paul:$285,500 (direct loan) This project,benefiting 646 residents, will replace the obsoleteraw water intake structure and construct a pumphouse.

4 Approximately 640 city residents willbenefit from the project. USDA RuralDevelopment funding will be leveraged with a$285,500 Community Development Block :$4,867,700 ($4,046,000 direct loanand $821,700 grant) Funding of this project willbenefit 1558 residents by replacing 37 blocks ofwater mains and broken or obsolete fire Rural Development funding will becombined with a $400,000 CommunityDevelopment Block : $373,300 ($236,000 direct loanand $137,300 grant) This project,A$ million funding for Kansas water projectsapproved by USDA Rural Development117 July 2008 THE KANSAS LIFELINE benefiting 631 rural residents, will construct anew ground storage tank and install about fivemiles of water lines within the city. USDA RuralDevelopment funding will be combined with a$356,730 Community Development Block the announcement, State Director Banksthanked the Kansas Congressional Delegation fortheir continued support of the Agency s Water &Waste Disposal Program, along with the many otherUSDA Rural Development programs.

5 Over the pastfifteen years alone, the Agency s Water & WasteDisposal Program has invested over $274 milliontowards the Sunflower State s economy, benefitingmore than 234,000 rural Kansans. We should allthank our Senators and Representatives forsupporting this benefit to the entire State, Rural Development provides equity andtechnical assistance to finance and foster growth inhomeownership, business development, and criticalcommunity and technology infrastructure in ruralAmerica. Since 2001, USDA Rural Development hasdelivered over $ billion for Kansas covering allAgency programs, supporting well over $6 billion infuture economic development for the additional information regarding USDAR ural Development programs, interestedparties may call the Agency s stateheadquarters at 785/271-2700 or log onto thestate s USDA Rural Development Web site small water systems afree check upEPA is rolling out an important management toolfor small drinking water and wastewater systems. Atthe National Rural Water Association Rally on April21, Assistant Administrator for Water Ben Grumblesannounced the availability of Check-Up Program forSmall Systems (CUPSS).

6 This user-friendlycomputer-based program assists owners andoperators in developing and using plans formaintaining their systems and providing service totheir customers. Administrator Johnson emphasizedthat CUPSS, with the support of our partners, willmake a difference and help bridge the growingfinancial gap faced by small drinking water andwastewater systems as they repair, and replaceinfrastructure. The program uses information provided on thesystem s assets, operation and maintenance activitiesand financial status to produce a prioritized assetinventory, financial reports and a customized assetmanagement plan. Asset management programssupport informed budget discussions, boostefficiency of the utility, and improve customerservice by ensuring clean and safe water atcompetitive prices. CUPSS was developed by theOffice of Water as part of the agency s SustainableInfrastructure Initiative. The effort received inputfrom a large stakeholder workgroup, includingrepresentatives from several states, the NationalRural Water Association, the Rural CommunityAssistance Partnership, and Environmental FinanceCenters.

7 The CUPSS program and all supporting materialsare available for immediate download. Kitsincluding the material will also be available in more information on CUPSS, including programdownloads and ordering information, EPA s newly updated Web sitefor small public water systems is available Bill provides additionalfunds for USDA The recently passed Farm Bill includes an extra$120,000,000 for USDA Grants/Loans; This funding willgo out as budget authority based upon each state'spercent of backlog. The state USDA staff willdetermine the loan and grant split. USDA's plannedobligation date is 9/4/08. Water will be a headquarters is currently collecting the list ofpotential projects. The new interest rate for USDA will apply; see increases water andsewer ratesWith the completion of an all new $ millioncity gas distribution system, city leaders in thiscounty seat town of 1,800 households have turnedtheir attention to the town s water and sewerinfrastructure, according to a report recently in TheHutchinson News.

8 A study that showed 10 to 15 water line projectsthat need attention prompted the City Council toapprove a water rate hike effective May 1. We have very little money set aside and we haveto start replacing those line, Mayor Clancy Mosessaid. Even with the increase we re looking at 2042before we can complete them and we are still lines have aged, too. Like many cities,Lyons is facing the need to repair and maintain itsinfrastructure. The council has approved a water rateincrease from 11 to 12 cents per 100 gallons forbasic residential users. The cost of use in excess of30,000 gallons per month will increase from thepresent 12 cents to 13 cents per 100 gallons. Users118 THE KANSAS LIFELINE July 2008will also pay a base rate for meters beginning at $12a month for a one-inch meter and increasing to $34per month for a four-inch rates will increase from $ to $16 permonth with a charge of 60 cents per month perthousand gallons of Moses explained, We looked at our waterrates and they were very, very low compared toanyone else.

9 Sewer improvements will be completed withtrenchless technology. Water line projects are slatedto begin within the next year, City AdministratorJohn Sweet municipal water suppliesshould be a priority with lawmakersA recent meeting about the condition of the state s24 federal reservoirs didn t produce any startlingrevelations, but the fact that state officials understand theneed to start discussing this issue is an important or 50 years ago when new federal reservoirswere cropping up across Kansas, it seemed that manyof our water supply issues were addition to providing flood control and recreationalopportunities, the new lakes provided nearby residents aninexpensive and reliable source of though officials knew that the reservoirs wereonly expected to last 50 to 100 years, it was easy to seethat as an issue we could worry about , later has reservoirs like Perry Lake and Clinton Lake age,silt and sediment accumulate on the lake beds, limitingthe amount of water that is stored there and providing afertile environment for algae that can affect the tasteand smell of the we have had some dry spells, this area hasbeen relatively fortunate in having sufficient rainfall tomaintain the level of our droughts in other parts of the country, suchas the Southeast, have caused severe drops in lakelevels and spurred the need for water the flip side, runoff from that rainfall also hascarried more sediment into our lakes, and officials saysail conservation efforts haven t been as successful asthey had hoped in controlling the the timeline is uncertain, it is clear thataction will be needed to preserve our federal lakes as amunicipal water the lake levels or dredging the lake beds areoptions, but either course would be expensive and takeyears to , unless other options are found, it seemswe have little choice.

10 Even with increased emphasis onconservation, the demand for water is bound to a supply of clean, potable water is it takes large sums of money to preserve thatresource, we ll have to find it which is why weshould waste no time in setting a strategy and lookingat ways to fund on Mother Nature, we may already begetting a late start; we can t afford to get further behind. Lawrence Journal-WorldTornadoes hit hard in KansascommunitiesIt s tornado season in Kansas and the spring of2008 has been an active one. Tornadoes have struckhard in Jewell on Thursday, May 29 and in Chapmanand Manhattan on June city of Jewell s water storage tank wasdemolished. The photo shows the city s 50,000-gallontank collapsed. The city of Jewell purchases its watersupply from Mitchell RWD 3, which purchases fromMitchell RWD 2 at Glen Elder. Because of a MitchellRWD 3 storage tank located just north of Jewell, thecity has been able to maintain pressure and have anadequate supply for domestic RWD 3 operator Roy Arasmith lost hisfarmstead to the tornado.