The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has awarded a total of $833,000 in financial assistance to the city of Lanagan for upgrades to the city’s drinking water system.
The project includes rehabilitating the system’s wells and well houses, replacing hydrants, valves and meters, building a new 75,000-gallon storage tank, and adding a Water Remediation Technology treatment system. This technology will treat the naturally occurring radionuclides in the community’s groundwater. The total project cost is $1.33 million and is expected to be completed by October 2021.
The project’s funding package comprises a $99,850 state Small Borrower Loan, a $733,150 federal Assistance for Small and Disadvantaged Communities Drinking Water Grant, and a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant from the Missouri Department of Economic Development.
"One of the department’s top priorities is to ensure all Missourians have safe drinking water," said Missouri Department of Natural Resources Director Carol Comer. "We are proud to help Lanagan provide critical system improvements to protect its residents from exposure to high levels of radionuclides in their drinking water."
Authorized under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, the new Assistance for Small and Disadvantaged Communities Drinking Water Grant was offered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2019. The grant is available to states to provide financial assistance to public water systems in underserved, small and disadvantaged communities to meet Safe Drinking Water Act requirements. Underserved communities are defined as those that are served by a public water system that violates or exceeds any maximum contaminant level, treatment technique or action level under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Lanagan’s drinking water source contains concentrations of radionuclides that exceed health-based standards. The department worked closely with EPA and the city of Lanagan to make the state’s grant allocation available to address safe drinking water needs for the community’s 419 citizens.
“The city of Lanagan is grateful for this grant,” said Stan Haywood, mayor of Lanagan. “It not only provides us with the needed upgrade to our water treatment facility but also helps to repair lines that were in dire need of replacement. This grant will allow us to improve our community and continue to serve the citizens of Lanagan.”
The department is committed to working with Missouri communities to assist with water and wastewater infrastructure improvement projects. The department’s Water Protection Financial Assistance Center assists with funding communities with water quality, wastewater and drinking water infrastructure needs.
For more information on wastewater and drinking water funding opportunities, visit dnr.mo.gov/env/wpp/srf/index.html.
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