After a year of work, Russellville officials announced this week funding is in place to replace the city's wastewater treatment facility.
Financing has been secured through USDA Rural Development, City Clerk Jan Wyatt said. The city will get a low-interest loan of $904,000, along with an $830,000 grant from USDA.
Russellville is also applying for a community development block grant of $500,000 and should know within the next few months whether the city will get it.
Combined with $139,000 from the city, these four sources of funding should cover the nearly $2.4 million construction cost.
The city's current three-cell lagoon is unable to meet the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' permit limits, so a new mechanical plant will be built. The plant will incorporate a moving bed biofilm reactor, which city officials said is effective in removing ammonia, a problem with the current system.
The city has hired Bartlett & West to design the project. If DNR approves the plans, city officials believe construction could start in 2018. They don't know how long it would take to complete.
"This project has been talked about for the last eight to 10 years," Wyatt said. "The good new is we'll be able to build it on the site where the lagoons are located. We didn't have to obtain land or get any easements, so that made the process go a little faster. It also saved us some money."