NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release – March 15, 2023
Contact: Louisiana DWRLF Program Manager Joel McKenzie at 225-342-7499 or [email protected], or Village of Harrisonburg Mayor Mike Tubre at 318-744-5794 or [email protected].
HARRISONBURG, La. – Water customers in the small Catahoula Parish community of Enterprise will soon be able to enjoy safe, quality drinking water from their faucets and “clear” water for washing their whites, thanks to a consolidation project for the system with the nearby Village of Harrisonburg.
Harrisonburg, which is located about 17 miles southeast of Enterprise, along Highway 124, has been awarded $3.5 million by the Louisiana Department of Health’s Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund (DWRLF) Program to expand its water service to Enterprise and thereby eliminate that community’s existing system. Enterprise’s existing system has been in non-compliance with Safe Drinking Water standards and has posed a threat to public health.
“The Enterprise Water System has struggled in the past to come into compliance with state and federal regulations. Too often, their customers received a reddish-brown water flowing from their faucets because of high concentrations of iron in the water. The water often had an unpleasant taste, and it caused problems for washing laundry,” said the Village of Harrisonburg’s consulting engineer Keith Capdepon.
Capdepon, who is a professional engineer with Bryant Hammett & Associates, Inc., said Harrisonburg officials first began its efforts to take over the Enterprise Water System nearly three years ago.
The 100% forgiven loan was awarded to the Village of Harrisonburg on Dec. 16, 2022. According to DWRLF Program Manager Joel McKenzie, the funding was provided through DWRLF’s Consolidation Initiative Program that provides funding to eliminate public water systems that are not in compliance with the federal Safe Drinking Water Act requirements and could pose a threat to public health.
Harrisonburg Mayor Mike Tubre said the project is being fully funded by DWRLF and the Office of Community Development’s Louisiana Community Development Block Grant (LCDBG) Program. The Village of Harrisonburg received $1.389 million of LCDBG funding for construction of a new water well, raw water main, improvements at Harrisonburg’s water plant and meter replacement.
“We are very thankful that we now have the necessary funding to do the project,” Tubre said. “This project would not be possible without the DWRLF program. This investment will ensure quality water for the Enterprise community and for customers in Harrisonburg for years to come.”
The DWRLF funds will pay for more than nine miles of new pipeline, connecting the Harrisonburg system to existing lines in Enterprise, as well as a new water well in Harrisonburg, a 50,000-gallon ground storage tank, a 22,000-gallon ground storage tank, new booster pumps and new generators at all booster stations. The funding will also pay for the rehabilitation of an elevated tank in Enterprise, as well as the proper closure of the two water wells now existing in Enterprise.
“We will also rehabilitate the elevated tank in Enterprise and add a new chlorine system to effectively treat the water,” Tubre said.
The Village of Harrisonburg currently manages two wells in its system. A new third well will be added, allowing the system to enlarge its service capacity.
Harrisonburg serves 350 water customers. Consolidation of Enterprise will add another 210 customers.
Womack & Sons Construction Group is currently laying the nine miles of pipeline to connect the systems. The local contractor has also begun construction of the new water well pad and one of the two new ground storage tanks has been erected.
LDH Chief Engineer Amanda Ames noted that Congress established the State Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund programs in 1996 in amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act.
“Safe drinking water is fundamental to community health, and this program helps communities throughout Louisiana keep their water as safe as possible without placing an undue burden in the form of expensive financing,” Ames said.
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