Where: Grant County, Washington
Problem: Sunrise Water Association needed funding for emergency repairs.
Solution: RCAC provided an infrastructure feasibility loan.

Sunrise Water Association (SWA), like many small, rural water systems, has aging facilities and was in need of emergency repairs. SWA is a private, nonprofit organization that provides water to the homeowners of the Marine View Heights Subdivision, in Othello, Grant County, Washington. The water system currently serves approximately 400 residents, through 139 connections.

The amount of repairs needed was beyond the resources of SWA to pay from reserves but too small to apply for federal funding. A bank loan would have been difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. RCAC provided a $69,100 loan to cover the costs of refurbishing SWA’s existing water well and storage reservoir, design and engineer¬ing of a new well and two storage reservoirs.

When the project is completed, the SWA will have a reliable waste water system and provide safe water services the residents in Grant County for several decades to come.

The RCAC Loan Fund works with small districts and local engineers across the West to help ensure that small systems address critical issues preventing safe drinking water supply and deliver. Often, this assistance leads to federally funded projects to address the needs. In some instances RCAC finances early design and predevelopment costs, which can be a barrier to moving a project forward. In other cases the loan fund provides construction financing. Regardless RCAC is filling a gap in the federal funding framework.