The Brown County Rural Water Association’s to expand into Aberdeen has been given a massive boost.

According to a press release from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, BCRWA has acquired a low-interest loan that will cover a majority of the funding necessary to pay for bringing BCRWA’s water into Aberdeen.

In May 2014, Aberdeen’s Village Council elected to begin discussions over whether to sell their out-dated water system, which has been a state of disrepair due to a lack of village funding. In a special election in Aberdeen on August 5, that was paid for by BCRWA, nearly 78 percent (296) voted in favor of selling the water system.

According to the press release, the improvements set to be made by BCRWA include “construction of new water lines to connect Aberdeen to the BCRWA system, a new water storage tank and other equipment to provide water to the village. In addition, Aberdeen’s existing wells will be plugged and two existing water towers will be removed. BCRWA also will pay off the village’s existing debt service. Construction is expected to be completed in February 2016.”

The loan that BCRWA acquired is from the Water Supply Revolving Loan Account. BCRWA acquired a loan worth $3,514,398. BCRWA estimates that the final construction cost will be at $3,864,398, leaving BCRWA to pay for the final $350,000.

BCRWA claims that they’ll save around $728,000 from applying for a loan at WSRLA, as opposed to going through conventional loans.

According to the press release, “Projects eligible for WSRLA funding include design and construction loans for new, replaced, rehabilitated, upgraded or expanded water treatment plants and their components. In addition, the WSRLA can provide technical assistance to public drinking water systems in a variety of areas from the planning, design and construction of improvements to enhancing the technical, managerial and financial capacity of these systems.

“Ohio EPA’s revolving loan funds are partially supported by federal grants and designed to last indefinitely through repayment of loans and investments in bonds. The WSRLA is managed jointly by Ohio EPA’s Division of Environmental and Financial Assistance and Division of Drinking and Ground Waters, with assistance from the Ohio Water Development Authority. Ohio EPA is responsible for program development and implementation, individual project coordination, and environmental and other technical reviews/approvals of projects seeking funds. The Ohio Water Development Authority provides financial management of the fund.”

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By Daniel Karell

dkarell@civitasmedia.com

Reach Daniel Karell at 937-378-6161. Follow him on Twitter @GNDKarell