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EPA recognizes Missoula County for drinking water system improvements

Release Date: 05/16/2011
Contact Information: Lisa McClain-Vanderpool 303-312-6077

EPA recognizes Missoula County for drinking water system improvements

(Denver, CO - May 16, 2011)

Contact Information: Brian Friel, 303.312.6277, Lisa McClain-Vanderpool 303.312.6077

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today presented a Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) award to Missoula County, Montana for water system improvements to the Lewis and Clark Subdivision. The award was presented by Brian Friel, EPA’s SRF coordinator to Amy Rose, Project Manager, at a ceremony at the Missoula County Public Works Department offices in Missoula.

In 2009, Missoula County was awarded $572,400 in Recovery Act funding to provide reliable water to residents in the Lewis and Clark subdivision, a low-income neighborhood in the western portion of the county. Previously, the area had been served by a small, deteriorated water system that regularly experienced low water pressure and flow quantities, and at times some customers were without water. The new system will be much more efficient, better managed with new meters and will ensure reliable and safe water to the community.

“The Lewis and Clark project is an example for other communities as they face critical needs associated with replacing aging infrastructure,” said EPA Region 8 Administrator Jim Martin. "This new system is a long term investment in a reliable water supply, public health and the local economy."

"Without this funding, the citizens in Lewis and Clark had a very limited ability to make these needed improvements," said Greg Robertson, Missoula County's Public Works Director.

The Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended in 1996, established the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program to make funds available to drinking water systems to finance infrastructure improvements. The program also emphasizes providing funds to small and disadvantaged communities and to programs that encourage pollution prevention as a tool for ensuring safe drinking water. The objectives of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act include creating jobs and investing in environmental infrastructure.

For more information please visit: http://water.epa.gov/grants_funding/dwsrf/index.cfm(Denver, CO - May 16, 2011)