Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 26, 1994 TAG: 9402260147
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
The U.S. Rural Development Administration has awarded $5.3 million in federal loans and grants to the Giles County Public Service Authority to construct a central water system, Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, announced Friday.
According to a news release distributed by Boucher, the development administration will provide $4.7 million in the form of a low-interest loan, and a grant of $598,000.
The system would serve the towns of Glen Lyn, Narrows, Pearisburg, Pembroke and Rich Creek, as well as other areas in Giles County, said Gary Eaton, chairman of the Public Service Authority and mayor of Rich Creek.
Eaton said the authority has applied for close to $2 million in additional loan money from the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Economic Development Association to cover the cost of the first phase of the project.
Preliminary engineering work on the first phase - hooking the towns to a water-treatment plant on the New River - has been completed by the Abingdon firm of Thompson and Litton. The entire project carries an estimated cost of $20 million.
Howard Spencer, authority member and mayor of Glen Lyn, said Friday's announcement is a positive step toward resolving what has been history of water problems in Giles County.
State Health Department officials have endorsed the the countywide solution.
by CNB