USDA invests $4.2 million to renovate Boonville water utility system
Originally published October 2019
Boonville, Ind. — As part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's $10 million investment in Indiana, the city of Boonville will receive more than $4.2 million to renovate the city's water utility system. .
The USDA announced a statewide initiative to improve Indiana's water and wastewater infrastructure Friday. The Warrick County seat will benefit from a $3,657,000 million loan and a $629,000 grant to improve the system for the Boonville Water Utility service area.
These funds will be used to install a new well and updated meters in the city's existing well field, along with solar panels in its treatment plants. The project will improve the quality of water for rural customers in Boonville, Boon Township and Hart Township where service is provided.
With the organization's funding, Boonville Mayor Charlie Wyatt said the city's projects are set to begin at the start of 2020 and end before 2021.
"I think it's very achievable," Wyatt said, "especially since we've done other work and gotten familiar with what we've got to do. We've got a lot of good people helping us in trying to make things happen through our engineering firms and the good people at USDA"
In addition to improving Boonville's water quality, Wyatt said these projects will greatly benefit families with fixed incomes. By improving the water system, he said, the city will save thousands of dollars monthly in operational costs, thus lowering residents' financial strains.
"It's for the long haul to keep our overall rates down so we're not having to raise rates, Wyatt said. "That's a big impact on fixed income families. We've got a lot of them here in Boonville, and we're very aware of that. We're trying to look after those people, as well as being environmentally green because a lot of people get excited about that. Hopefully we attract people and save money."
Once the projects are completed, the city expects to save upwards of $17,000 per month. And, in the next 30 years, local engineers anticipate savings of $6 million, which the city will use to make any upgrades to the water system as needed Wyatt said.