Governor Warner Announces Nearly 70,000 More Virginians Connected to Clean and Reliable Drinking Water
Governor Warner Announces Nearly 70,000 More Virginians Connected to Clean and Reliable Drinking Water
Governor helps construct a water line in Giles County to bring water to 80 more people
Governor Mark R. Warner announced today that approximately 70,000 more Virginians have been connected with clean and reliable drinking water in the past four years. This number is nearly triple the Governor's goal of 25,000 in five years, which he set in Executive Order 39 in 2002. The Governor made his announcement while working with community volunteers on the Shute Hollow Self-Help Virginia water project in Giles County.
"As I campaigned for this job, I learned first hand about the drinking water issues in Virginia's rural communities. I promised to make clean and safe drinking water a priority for my administration," said Governor Warner. "By directing state agencies to prioritize grants for water projects and focusing our resources, we've been able to connect nearly 70,000 Virginians with a safe and reliable source of drinking water. This has benefited households connected to inadequate public systems as well as homes with no previous access to public water."
The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) are major sources of state funding for drinking water projects. VDH has connected 62,241 residents to public water through the Virginia Water Supply Assistance Program and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. DHCD has connected 7,332 people with water through the Community Development Block Grant, Appalachian Regional Commission, and Self-Help Virginia programs.
Self-Help Virginia is a resource for small communities to meet the challenge of creating viable and affordable water and wastewater systems. The program relies on community volunteers who act as their own project managers to dig ditches, install water and sewer lines, and operate leased or donated excavation equipment. The program began in 1998. Since that time DHCD has invested $6.7 million to connect 3,200 people with public water. This represents an $11 million savings compared to the estimated $17.7 million conventional construction costs for the projects.
The Shute Hollow project will connect nearly 80 people in the rural, Giles County community with public water. Monday was the third time Governor Warner has volunteered on a Self-Help Virginia water project. During his gubernatorial campaign he worked with volunteers on the South Mountain project in Wise County. In 2003, he worked with volunteers in Derby, another Wise County community, to connect 250 people to public water.
http://www.governor.virginia.gov/Press_Policy/Releases/2005/Nov05/1114.htm