Drinking water will be safer and meet more stringent regulations for water quality in Harris thanks to more than $1.8 million in low-interest loans and grants from the Minnesota Public Facilities Authority (PFA).

ìOur water is intolerable,î says Mayor Rick Smisson, noting the ìterrible odor.î ìWe have people who literally have to buy bottled water for everything.î

Currently, the city has no treatment plant and the water pumped straight into homes from its deep well contains high levels of manganese and radium. City officials will use a $1.33 million loan from a special drinking water fund and a $500,000 grant from a fund for disadvantaged communities to build a new water treatment plant.

The PFA loan carries a below-market interest rate of 2.32 percent. Over the 20-year life of the loan, taxpayers will save more than $1 million in interest, a tremendous cost savings for the townís residents.

ìWe are already a way overtaxed community,î says Smisson, who estimates that 70 percent of residents connected to the water system live on incomes below the poverty line and cannot afford higher property taxes to cover the costs of the improvements. ìThat low interest rate was very important to us.î

Acting Commissioner Ward Einess, head of the state
Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and chairman of the PFA, said such improvements are the basic building blocks of a flourishing local economy.

ìSound water infrastructure is absolutely essential for communities to grow,î said Einess. ìThe project will leave Harris better positioned for residential, commercial and industrial growth.î

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) joined the PFA in announcing the loan. ìWhen we improve the quality of our drinking water, we improve the general health of the state,î said MDH Commissioner Diane Mandernach. ìItís the right prescription.î

Created by the Legislature in 1987, the PFA has funded $2 billion in public infrastructure projects. The authority operates three revolving loan funds for water pollution control, drinking water quality and transportation projects.