Blackjack Water Association Gets Federal Loan

[PRESS RELEASE]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A rural water association serving the Starkville area has been awarded a $343,000 low-interest federal loan to improve its water delivery system, U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today announced.

The Blackjack Water Association, Inc., will use the 40-year, 2.25 percent loan to install new generators at two wells sites and to rehabilitate the association’s elevated 100,000-gallon water storage tank.

“Nearly 400 families and businesses rely on water supplied by this locally-controlled association, and this Rural Development loan will help ensure reliable water deliveries for these consumers,” Cochran said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development is providing the loan through its Water and Waste Disposal Loan program.  The award to the Oktibehha County water association is the latest in a series of FY2016 awards approved for Mississippi by USDA Rural Development.

Cochran is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and serves on the subcommittee with funding jurisdiction over the USDA and Rural Development.   He is also the senior Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, which is charged with recommending USDA policy.