Success Stories: Clean and Safe Drinking Water Now a Reality for Hundreds of Families in Lee County, Virginia

Outline of Need:

Many areas of Lee County, Virginia, have suffered severe and irreversible damage to their water resources due to coal mining activity. Residents in these communities are faced with health and safety concerns related to their drinking water.

How Rural Development Helped:

Rural Development, along with the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, and the Virginia Department of Health, provided financing to construct a new water system for families in the Ely and Puckett Creek communities of Lee County. Loan and grant funds totaling over $1.5 million helped provide these communities with a new, safe, and reliable water system. These funds will be used to construct a water storage tank and to install water lines in these communities.

The Results:

The residents in the Ely and Puckett Creek communities are currently hauling water from a spring that has tested positive for coliform bacteria. The water is unsafe for consumption, and the Lee County Public Service Authority and St. Charles Water and Sewer Authority have worked diligently to provide potable water to these communities. With assistance from Rural Development and its financial partners, the dream of potable water is now a reality for more than 100 families. The public water system will provide clean, safe drinking water to citizens who have not had the benefit of this basic resource that most of us take for granted. With low interest loans and grant funds provided by all financial partners, these impoverished communities with high unemployment percentages will have clean drinking water at rates that are affordable.

This commitment to working together to make things happen can be seen in communities all across southwest Virginia. Last year, southwest communities alone utilized over 60 percent of Rural Development's $72 million allocation for community facilities and rural Utilities Programs, which is a testament to the citizens and local governments working together to improve the quality of life for residents of their area.

(January 2002)

Success Stories Home Page

Site Index  |  Send Questions/Comments  |  Contact Us About Web Accessibility Rural Development News and Information  |  Utilities Programs Press Room  |  Accessibility Statement Rural Development is within the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administers rural business, cooperative, housing, utilities and community development programs.