Where: Republic, Ferry County, Washington

Issue: Water systems serving low-income rural communities lack financial resources to make necessary upgrades

Outcome: RCAC’s Loan Fund provides financing for predevelopment costs

Curlew Kai Homeowner’s Association (CK) provides domestic water service to 83 customers in Ferry County, Washington. The community is near Republic, a rural town about 300 miles northeast of Seattle.

The aging water system has had multiple functional problems, and with no storage facility, struggles to meet supply demands. CK has made numerous repairs to the system and raised water rates to cover mounting expenses, but the scope of necessary improvements, more than $800,000, was too large to cover through annual cash flow.

CK applied for funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA RD) grant and loan program. The funds were approved, but in order to proceed, CK needed to comply with USDA’s letter of conditions, including design and engineering. RCAC’s Loan Fund, which provided a feasibility loan before the grant application was submitted, provided a second $105,000 loan to complete the required design and engineering.

The upgrades and improvements, including construction of two concrete water storage reservoirs will enable the system to provide safe drinking water to its customers.