Hays Post

The city of Victoria will receive nearly $4.5 million in federal grants and loans for a massive upgrade to its water system.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that Victoria is eligible for a $1,441,000 grant and a $2,966,000 loan to build a new 150,000-gallon water tower, replace waterlines and complete improvements to the city’s wells. The money also would be used to help fund a connection to Trego County Rural Water District to alleviate water supply issues, the USDA reported.

Approximately 14,000 feet of water distribution lines will be replaced.

Victoria’s contribution to the project would be only $100,000, the USDA said, and the low-interest loan portion of the funding has a 40-year payback.

“A multi-year drought has diminished the city’s aquifer,” the USDA said in the announcement. “The supply of groundwater in the city’s shallow aquifer is to a point where the city no longer has a dependable and sustainable supply of water.”

The grants were part of a $1.2 billion effort unveiled to help rebuild and improve rural water infrastructure. The 234 projects would effect the water supply of 936,000 residents in 46 states. The Victoria project was one of 16 funded in Kansas and the only in northwest Kansas, according to USDA documents.

Only rural areas and towns with populations of 10,000 or fewer are eligible for the program.

“Access to water is a key driver for economic opportunity and quality of life in rural communities,” said Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett. “Under the leadership of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, USDA is committed to being a strong partner to rural communities in building prosperity through modern water infrastructure.”