– The Louisiana Department of Health has awarded a $2.31 million loan to DeSoto Parish to improve its drinking water.
In addition to the loan, which is through the State’s Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund, the DeSoto water system also received a grant from the Drinking Water Capitalization Grant that pays for the first $462,000 of the loan (principal forgiveness).
The loan was closed in August, and will be used to construct a Magnetic Ion Resin Exchange pre-treatment system. This technology is used to reduce natural organic matter and dissolved organic carbon in drinking water, which will aid the water system in reducing its harmful disinfection byproducts.
1 John Neilson said, “Our goal is always to provide the highest-quality drinking water to our customers.
It is administered by LDH’s Office of Public Health.
Once a loan is approved, water systems can use the funds to make their improvements. As the systems pay back the loans, the principal and interest are used to make more money available for other communities that have drinking water needs.