Thanks to help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Rural Development, the Warren County Water District will soon be upgrading sewer lines in the Plum Springs area.

A $645,000 loan through the USDA’s Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program will help pay for rehabilitating about 35 miles of sewer lines, a news release said.

The loan is part of $25.5 million the USDA plans to invest in several Kentucky communities. All told, the USDA program is investing $1.2 billion to help improve rural water infrastructure through 234 water and environmental infrastructure projects in 46 states.

A news release from the office of U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Bowling Green, said the Warren County loan package will be used to rehabilitate 35 miles of sewer lines to preserve water safety for more than 6,000 residents.

The USDA said those sewer lines are deteriorating because of age, posing a potential failure of the sewer system and a serious health hazard for those residents.

“This is great news for Warren County, and I congratulate the Warren County Water District on receiving this competitive award,” Guthrie said in the release.

In another nearby project that is receiving assistance through the USDA program, the Todd County Water District will receive a $3.2 million loan and a $390,000 grant to construct two miles of water line and a 500,000-gallon water storage tank.

The upgrades will provide up to 1 million gallons of water per day for a new industrial site just outside Guthrie. Novelis Industries plans to build an automotive aluminum sheet manufacturing facility that will create about 125 jobs.

The USDA Office of Rural Development website said loans and grants in the program can be used for projects involving drinking water sourcing; treatment and distribution; sewer collection, transmission and treatment; solid waste collection and disposal; and storm water collection, transmission and disposal.

More information about the USDA office of Rural Development and the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program can be found at the rd.usda.gov website.