The Northwestern Water and Sewer District will conduct an audit of its public water system to determine the extent of water loss and lost revenue due to leaks, meter problems, billing issues and unmetered usage. A low-interest loan from Ohio EPA is assisting in the financing of the project.
The survey will follow American Water Works Association guidelines. In addition to finding the sources of water loss, the audit is designed to produce recommendations to address them.
Created in 1998, the Water Supply Revolving Loan Account (WSRLA) provides below-market interest rate loans for compliance-related improvements for community water systems and non-profit, non-community public water systems. This $148,143 loan is being awarded at a zero percent interest rate.
Projects eligible for WSRLA funding include design and construction loans for new, replaced, rehabilitated, upgraded or expanded water treatment plants and their components. In addition, the WSRLA can provide technical assistance to public drinking water systems in a variety of areas from the planning, design and construction of improvements to enhancing the technical, managerial and financial capacity of these systems.
Ohio EPAs revolving loan funds are partially supported by federal grants and designed to last indefinitely through repayment of loans and investments in bonds. The WSRLA is managed jointly by Ohio EPAs Division of Environmental and Financial Assistance and Division of Drinking and Ground Waters, with assistance from the Ohio Water Development Authority. Ohio EPA is responsible for program development and implementation, individual project coordination, and environmental and other technical reviews/approvals of projects seeking funds. The Ohio Water Development Authority provides financial management of the fund.
More information about the WSRLA is available at: http://epa.ohio.gov/defa/EnvironmentalandFinancialAssistance.aspx.
