The city of Russellville plans to begin construction next summer on a new sewer treatment plant to comply with Missouri Department of Natural Resources sewer treatment requirements.
Russellville City Clerk Jan Wyatt said the $3.3 million project will replace the city's lacking lagoon system with a sewage treatment plant with UV disinfection. Among the problems with the current lagoon system is the excess amount of ammonia being discharged from the system into a tributary of Roark Branch.
The project is intended to be completed in two years, and there should be no pause in service for the more than 280 residential customers.
The project is partially funded through a $2.5 million bond issuance that the city passed in 2014. The project is also funded through a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant, a $830,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant and 1.354 million in low-interest loans through USDA rural development funds. The city also matched $139,000 of its own cash for the project.
Russellville also has been granted preliminary approval to apply for an additional $450,000 in grants as part of a $256 million federal project to improve wastewater infrastructure in rural areas. Wyatt said Russellville can apply to access these funds if necessary.
"We are very fortunate that we were able to receive the amount of grant funds we did," Wyatt said. "We've done real well so far, but it's all about regulations and being able to meet our requirements because we were facing significant fines and penalties if we hadn't done this project."
Wyatt said officials are grateful for the community's support of the project and DNR has been a good partner in the effort.