LIVINGSTON, La. — The Louisiana Department of Health's Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund has awarded a $3.93 million loan to the Colyell Community Water Association to construct a new groundwater well and upgrade existing control systems, improvements designed to enhance the reliability and quality of drinking water for its roughly 1,200 customers.
The project centers on a new groundwater replacement well at the inactive Well No. 1 site on South Satsuma Road, just south of the intersection of Hood Road. Well No. 1 was the system's original water well, constructed in the 1960s. After years of rehabilitation, it was taken offline two years ago due to a significant reduction in pumping capacity.
"The system has been operating on just two wells for nearly two years now, the old No. 2 well located on South Satsuma Road and the newer and larger No. 3 well located on Perrilloux Road," said project engineer Eddie Aydell of Alvin Fairburn & Associates. "Not having the additional well has put the system in a very vulnerable position had one of the other wells gone offline."
Aydell said the replacement will restore Colyell to a three-well system, providing better redundancy and reliability. The new well will also be larger, allowing for a 1,000-gallon-per-minute flow rate and creating greater water pressure throughout the system.
In addition to the new well, the association plans to install more than 24,000 feet of 6-inch water main to address pressure issues in the southernmost portion of the water system. Much of that area, including residents south of Colyell Baptist Church and those near Moonlight Inn and along Watts Road, currently receives service through older 2-inch and 4-inch lines that are not sufficient to provide adequate pressure. The new 6-inch lines will improve both pressure and water quality.
"We are very excited about receiving this funding and what it is allowing us to do to upgrade our controls and improve redundancy and reliability within the system," said Hulon Taylor, president of the Colyell Community Water Association. "Thanks to the investments we are making, our water customers will see a noticeable improvement in their service. We are proud to be investing in better water for everyone."
The Colyell Community Water System serves residents south of the Town of Livingston and north and northwest of the Town of French Settlement.
Funding is provided through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Louisiana's DWRLF General Supplemental Fund receives an annual allotment of $28,744,000, which is dispersed to rural water systems throughout the state.
The loan carries 49 percent principal forgiveness, with the remaining 51 percent eligible for a low interest rate. For the Colyell Community Water Association, that means $1,925,700 of the loan is forgiven, with the remaining $2,004,300 to be paid back at an interest rate of 2.45 percent.
"This BIL General Supplemental Loan is a cost-effective way for our state's rural water districts to address serious health issues," said Scott Templet, deputy chief engineer of infrastructure and finance for the Louisiana Department of Health's Office of Public Health. "We congratulate the Colyell Community Water Association's leadership on taking advantage of this funding program to improve the quality of drinking water for their customers."
Congress established the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs in 1996 as part of amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act.
