Floresville will receive a $7.495 million loan and a $1.798 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to upgrade its water system and wastewater treatment facilities.

Anticipated for weeks, the official public announcement was made at a May 11 ceremony at Floresville High School.

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar and USDA officials joined Floresville City Council members and other local civic leaders for the event.

USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Lisa Mensah announced that Floresville was one of 15 communities that will receive nearly $30 million for water and wastewater upgrades in rural Texas.

Mensah said Floresville is receiving the biggest loan and the biggest grant through USDA’s Rural Utilities Program, which provides water and wastewater infrastructure funding to rural communities with populations of 10,000 or less.

“Rural Development is committed to ensuring that rural Americans, including nearly 20 million rural Texans, have access to the economic opportunities that modern water and wastewater services bring,” she said.

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, emphasizing the importance of water, commended the USDA for moving money fast to get to the cities and counties that need it.

Following the announcement ceremony, Mensah said USDA teams in Texas will make sure the work is accomplished according to plan.

“Monitoring the job is constant,” she said

Likening her agency to “loan services” at a bank, she said that if Floresville has trouble making the loan payments, USDA team members will work with the community.

“We try to stay close, to try to understand why,” she said. “We’re a bank with a heart.

“Our first duty is to the people benefiting [from the project],” she said. “We will look at what can be done -- more time, different arrangements. There are grants for emergencies.”

http://www.wilsoncountynews.com/article.php?id=65833&n=section-general-news-usda-announces-93m-floresville-water-projects