Rural Development
Funding a rural water project
A county commissioner
In one evening, a county commissioner learns that their water line project qualifies for USDA Rural Development money, and which programs to apply to.
The problem
The county's water lines are 60 years old and failing. The town at the end of the line has 1,800 people. The commissioner has heard of USDA water loans, but doesn't know if the town counts as rural.
The work
On Rural Development:
- Check an address. Asks USDA's own eligibility map whether the water plant's address is rural. It is.
- County profile. Income, poverty, population change and the age of the housing, which a funding application asks for.
- Fund a project. Programs that pay for water systems, including USDA's Water and Waste Disposal loans and grants, which take applications all year.
- Find grants and the Grant Wizard. Any program with a deadline.
The decision
The commissioner takes the county profile and the program list to the next commission meeting. The commission tells them to call the state USDA office.
Why it matters
The first meeting with USDA starts with the facts already on the table.
See it with real data: the free Polk County, Iowa sample, or what's inside each desk. Every plan starts with a 7-day trial.
The people, places and numbers in these stories are made up to show how the pages work. The pages and the public data behind them are real.
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