A quarter of a million dollars in funding has been approved by the federal government for the Rixford water system.
U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., announced Monday a $125,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission and a $125,000 loan from USDA Rural Development to be used to assure the community has access to safe drinking water.
Jeff Anderson, president of the Rixford Waterworks Association, said it has been working to get funding for several years now.
“This is a solution to a storage problem we have with our treated water,” Anderson explained. The system has two storage tanks — “they are 1930s vintage” — that have visible signs of deterioration, like holes in the tops of the tanks.
“We’re trying to replace the two worn out ones with one good one,” Anderson said.
One current tank is 10,000 gallons, while the other is 20,000 gallons. The new tank will be a 43,000-gallon glass fused steel tank, and will be placed at the site of the old tanks.
“These federal grants and loans are doing exactly what they’re intended to do: support rural communities and ensure residents have access to safe drinking water, sanitary sewer and waste disposal systems,” Thompson said. “This is tremendous news for the Rixford community, and I am thrilled that after more than 70 years of use these water tanks will be replaced in a timely manner before they fail. I congratulate the team that pursued these funding opportunities for benefit of the community.”
Along with Anderson, instrumental in the project have been Gay DeGolier of the McKean County Housing and Redevelopment Authority; Linda Thomas of USDA, who helped with the rural development application; and Bob Rusiewski of the North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission, who prepared the ARC grant.
Anderson said he’s hopeful the project can begin in the spring.
Rixford Waterworks Association is a community water system located in Otto Township in McKean County. The system, which is metered at the well, serves a population of about 234 at approximately 100 service connections. Replacing the aging tanks will result in a system that is sustainable and can reliably provide safe drinking water to the residents of Rixford at reasonable rates.
