Farm Progress

Future improvements in water and wastewater structures will impact residents in 10 southern Minnesota counties

July 25, 2016

2 Min Read

Federal funding for improvements to water and wastewater infrastructure at several locations within the Lincoln Pipestone Rural Water System recently were announced by USDA.

The Lincoln Pipestone Rural Water System serves more than 57,000 residents across 10 counties in southwestern Minnesota. LPRWS faces several challenges that need to be addressed in order to ensure residents continue to receive safe, clean drinking water and wastewater treatment, officials said.

Rural Development state director Colleen Landkamer said funding for the project comes in the form of a $9,890,000 loan and $1,969,000 grant through USDA Rural Development’s Water and Waste Disposal programs.

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Within the LPRWS, the Holland water treatment facility is currently discharging highly mineralized water and soon to be in violation of Minnesota Pollution Control Agency – potentially jeopardizing Holland’s renewal permit. The Verdi water source is operating above capacity due to supplement demand of service areas normally covered by other systems. In Burr, the water source is approaching the annual permitted well appropriation volume and has been advised of a future reduction in annual permitted appropriation by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The water treatment facility has also outgrown the existing pumping and storage facilities due to an increase in demand of more than 27% since 2000. Finally, 3,670 of the approximately 4,500 individual, point-of-service water meters have surpassed their useful life, as well as numerous valves, couplings, and other meter accessories of the System Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) at 12 facilities.

To correct the mineralized water discharge in Holland, this project will help finance 21.08 miles of 14-inch transmission line from connection at the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System near the city of Magnolia to the existing Edgerton Pumping and Storage Facility. Additionally, new pumping stations, masonry buildings, standby generators, soil-based septic systems, and dual ground storage tanks will be constructed at the Edgerton and Verdi sites to address increased demand in these regions and decrease the strain on the Verdi, Burr, and Edgerton water source systems.

The final portion of this project will provide the necessary upgrades to the SCADA system at 12 facilities. Once the project is completed, costs for each user are expected to decrease to an affordable $57.30 per month in addition to outstanding assessments.

Since 2009, USDA Rural Development has invested over $343 million in loans and grants to build or improve over 300 water and wastewater treatment facilities throughout rural Minnesota.

To learn more about Rural Development programs, visit www.rd.usda.gov/mn. Or, contact your local area office.

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