The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development office in Virginia announced April 21 that the town of Stuart has been awarded more than $1.4 million in funding for infrastructure improvements to the town’s wastewater treatment plant.
In order to provide public sewer service to recently annexed areas of the town, the existing wastewater treatment plant is in need of improvement because it has received no major upgrades or enhancements in more than 25 years, according to a news release from the funding agency.
The town of Stuart will receive a grant of $593,000 and a loan of $863,000.
“Outdated or nonexistent public sewer systems are unhealthy for people and the environment, which is a reason we work every day with Virginia localities to find solutions to water infrastructure and other challenges,” said USDA Rural Development’s Virginia state director Basil Gooden, Ph.D. “These solutions create ripple effects that improve the economy, quality of life and the environment in rural Virginia.”
Upon completion, the treatment plant’s maintenance needs and operation will improve significantly and continue to serve approximately 335 residential and 85 commercial users with safe, sanitary sewer facilities. The improvements will also enable the town to extend public sewer service in the near future to recently annexed areas that are currently served by private septic systems.
The funding is part of more than $4 million in USDA Rural Development funds announced for Virginia and $183 million announced nationwide from the agency’s Water and Environmental Program (WEP).
The program provides technical assistance and financing to develop drinking water and waste disposal systems for communities with fewer than 10,000 residents.
Funding is contingent on the recipient meeting the terms of the grant agreement, the news release states.
The town of White Stone will receive a loan of $807,000 and a grant of $1,958,000.
