The city of Lake Charles Water System has been awarded a $20 million loan from the Louisiana Department of Health’s Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund under a new federal funding program designed to improve water capacity and quality for its customers.

The loan will pay for upgrades and expansions to the system, which currently serves more than 35,000 water customers.

The city will construct a new 6 million gallon-per-day ground treatment facility that will include provisions for future expansion to 10 million gallons per day. The new facility will become the seventh ground treatment facility in the city’s system. It will be built in the southeast region, located near the intersection of Southpark Drive and Red Davis McCollister Road. All customers will benefit from increased pressure, improved water quality and capacity.

Other improvements to be funded with the DWRLF loan include the installation of four groundwater production wells, four horizontal pressure filters, two concrete finished water storage tanks, and four high service pumps.  Ancillary system upgrades include chemical feed systems, automated plant controls, a backup generator, lag/testing facilities, a backwash pumping system, recovery and clarification equipment, and numerous onsite buildings.  Approximately 37,500 linear feet of transmission mains will also be added to the city’s distribution system.

“This investment will allow our city to improve water quality for all our customers, as well as create capacity,” Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter said. “We began the process for this project more than three years ago, well before our area was impacted by Hurricanes Laura and Delta, which only further exacerbated our need for better water service throughout the city.”

“We are most grateful for our partnership with the state, through the Department of Health’s Drinking Water Revolving Loan Program, to gain access to the funds we need to make this project a reality,” Hunter said.

He said contractors broke ground on the project this month, and the project is expected to be completed in mid-2025.

DWRLF Program Manager Joel McKenzie said funding for the project is in conjunction with the EPA, which priorities disadvantaged communities. The funds have a mandated principal forgiveness of 49% of the value, with the remaining 51% provided as a low-interest loan, with a cap of $3 million in principal forgiveness. The interest rate for the loan portion of the project has been set at 2.45%.

McKenzie said the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), which oversees the state’s DWRLF program, closed on the Lake Charles loan on May 17, 2023.

LDH Chief Engineer Amanda Ames noted that Congress established the State Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund programs in 1996 as part of amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act. The program is jointly funded by an annual grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (80%) and the individual participating states (20%).

In Louisiana, the program is administered by LDH’s Office of Public Health, which oversees DWRLF. Loans made through this program are low interest and have a maximum 30-year repayment period.

“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.