The city of South Pittsburg, Tenn., has received $3.45 million in two loans for water infrastructure improvements.
One $2.7 million loan from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program is for improvements to the water storage and distribution system, and the other loan for $750,000 from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program addresses infiltration and inflow issues, according to a news release issued Tuesday by Gov. Bill Lee and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner David Salyers.
The loans will help address some of the town’s long-term water system needs, according to South Pittsburg Board of Water Works & Sewers and Marion Natural Gas Manager Keith Garth. The utility serves the city and nearby county residents.
“That will help us with our water quality and the reliability of our water system and our water capacity,” Garth said Wednesday in a phone interview. “The number one thing we’re replacing is the oldest tank in our system, which was built around 1937-38.”
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South Pittsburg’s $2.7 million loan and $750,000 loan each have a 20-year term at 2.01% interest, according to state officials.
South Pittsburg’s loans are among three approved by the Tennessee Local Development Authority, including a $1.6 million loan for the Tullahoma Utilities Authority, officials said. The loan to the Authority comes from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program to address improvements to the wastewater collection system, officials said. The loan has a 20-year term at 3.35% interest.
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Through the State Revolving Fund Loan Program, communities, utility districts, and water and wastewater authorities can obtain loans through the State Revolving Fund Loan Program with lower interest rates than through private financing, according to state officials. These low-interest-rate loans can vary from 0% percent to below market rate, based on each community’s economic health, officials said.
Lee said the loans help with important water infrastructure projects in South Pittsburg, Tullahoma and across the state.
“These loans help provide important water infrastructure projects in communities across the state, and we look forward to the improvements they will bring,” Lee said in the release. “The program makes loans more affordable, and we commend local officials for their commitment to meeting these needs.”
Salyers said every community in Tennessee deserves a high-quality water system.
“The low-interest loans help make the path to such improvements easier,” he said in the release.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.
Staff File Photo / South Pittsburg City Hall is shown in 2015.