Clay Rural Water System receives EPA award for water supply improvements

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today presented a Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) award to the Clay Rural Water System in Union County, S.D., for improvements to the water supply for its customers.

The South Dakota DWSRF provided a $4.3 million loan at a low interest rate to fund the creation of a sub-system to serve rural users and four housing developments in Union County. To create the sub-system, the Clay Rural Water System purchased and upgraded the waterworks assets of one of the affected housing developments and then constructed distribution lines to serve the remaining three housing developments and rural water users. The project improved the water supply for two of the housing projects that had previously violated primary standards for radium.

“The Clay Rural Water System project will increase service reliability and water quality and is an excellent example of sound asset management,“ said EPA Region 8 Administrator Robert E. Roberts. “This EPA award recognizes exceptional creativity in designing projects that promote sustainability and protect public health.”

The Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended in 1996, established the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program to make funds available to drinking water systems to finance infrastructure improvements. The program also emphasizes providing funds to small and disadvantaged communities and to programs that encourage pollution prevention as a tool for ensuring safe drinking water.