Where: Idanha, Oregon
Problem: City of Idanha’s water system was out of compliance with state regulations.
Solution: RCAC staff assisted with a rate increase which helped the city to qualify for an intermediate term loan to finance emergency repairs.

In November 2013, the City of Idanha, like many small, rural communities, had an aging water system and was in desperate need of emergency repairs. The City received a Water System Report from the Oregon Department of Health as a follow up to a system inspection. There were six significant deficiencies noted, however, no violations issued. The city submitted a written corrective action plan to the Department of Health in January 2014, stating that it was in immediate need of replacing or rebuilding various parts of the water treatment plant to bring the system into compliance with the Oregon Department of Health regulations.

RCAC staff worked with the city to understand the importance of asset management, rate setting and financing. The city approved a rate increase and as a result was able to secure an RCAC loan to complete the emergency repairs identified in their corrective action plan.

RCAC’s Loan Fund provided a $35,000 loan so the city could address their water system deficiencies and provide safe drinking water to its customers. The city has completed the primary repairs and replaced the programmable logic system allowing the plant to operate without an operator manually running the system.

Now that the emergency repairs are complete, the city is moving forward with a larger project of badly needed distribution improvements to address an estimated 80 percent water loss.

RCAC leverages funding from the U.S. Treasury CDFI Fund and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Intermediary Relending Program to attract private capital to allow us make loans such as this one to the City of Idahna. Various federal programs provide funding for RCAC environmental and community programs technical assistance.