Corning to get $1 million to improve wastewater system

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that the City of Corning will receive a $1.045 million Rural Development investment loan to improve its wastewater collection system and treatment facility.

The improvements, the USDA said, will include “rehabilitating four wastewater lift stations, replacing a section of constricted pipes that have caused backups in the sewer system, and adding a post-aeration system that will bring the dissolved oxygen levels in the water back into compliance with the facility’s discharge permit.”

The investment, along with 70 others around the country, is being made through the USDA’s Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant program.

Other communities in Arkansas sharing in the $192 million investment include:

• City of Huntington: $562,000 loan/$460,000 grant to complete improvements to the wastewater treatment plant and system. The existing wastewater treatment facility no longer meets National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit requirements. As a result, the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality issued a consent to correct all violations.
• City of Gentry: $12,835,000 loan to construct a water storage tank and booster pumping facility. The city will have substantial growth and demand in the near future, and these improvements will provide the necessary storage and system pressure for one of the city’s two pressure zones. Construction will include a 2.5-million-gallon elevated storage tank with a single 2,300-gallon-per-minute booster pump station.
• North Garland County Regional Water District: $850,000 loan to construct an office building and maintenance shop. This project will benefit the regional water district and its current and future users.
• Southeast Bradley County Water District Public Water Authority of the State of Arkansas: $275,000 loan; $1,597,000 grant to replace the water system to meet health and safety standards. The project will also allow the city of Banks’ water system to be consolidated with the Southeast Bradley County Water District. Replacing the water system will provide new pipes for adequate water pressure and consistent water quality. Consolidating smaller water systems with larger water systems is part of Arkansas Department of Health’s plan to regionalize systems.