Where: Town of Cusick, Pend Oreille County, Washington

Problem: A rural town’s water system needed funds to upgrade its surface water treatment plant.

Solution: RCAC’s Loan Fund provided $290,000 interim financing.

The Town of Cusick, Washington is located about 52 miles north of Spokane, in a remote rural area. The community of about 207 people has a $38,365 median household income (MHI), far below the state’s non-metro MHI of $60,049.

The town gets all of its drinking water from the Pend Oreille River and uses a surface water treatment plant to ensure the water is safe to drink. The plant was constructed in 1989 – 1990 and uses chlorine and sand filters to treat the water, however the system has significant deferred maintenance issues and needs upgrades. High chlorine residue led to customer complaints about taste and odor.

Planned improvements will cost more than $839,000.

Washington State Revolving Fund (SRF) confirmed that the town’s funding application is likely to be approved, and it has some Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds on hand. However the town needed interim funds to take advantage of a favorable bid.

RCAC’s Loan Fund provided a $290,000 environmental construction loan. This bridge financing will allow the town to proceed with critical system improvements while it waits on state SRF funds.