$250,000 grant will help fix sewage problem

The residents in the small village of Pocahontas know too well why there's an "ew" in sewage.

Faced with the problem of old septic tanks failing throughout the old German settlement -- and sewage seeping to the surface and even spilling into streets around town -- voters last year overwhelmingly approved a $500,000 bond issue to build a sewer structure.

Recently, the Missouri Department of Economic Development announced the official release of a $250,000 block grant for the Pocahontas sewer project.

The grant is the final piece of the financial equation that amounts to a $1 million project. The funds will be released to the village as certain requirements are met. The grant coincides with the bond issue and a $250,000 low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program.

The latest news means work can get started soon.

"We're all ready for it," said Pocahontas resident Wib Reisenbichler.

Most of the town has experienced sewer seepage and runoff from old septic systems that can't handle the volume.

"We are so happy because most of us have septic tanks that are old and breaking down," said Marjorie Swan. "This will really be a plus for our town."

Kasten has said in the past that the village of 54 households and 127 residents needed some financial assistance with the project so monthly sewage bills would remain affordable for residents. It turns out, two government agencies pitched in. Last April, voters approved the bond issue 30-1.

"We're pretty excited about it and looking forward to completing the project," Kasten said. "This one finishes up the financial end of it, so we'll be ready to let bids here in a couple of weeks."

Kasten said the grant will pay for the hookups. He said if all goes well with the weather, the project could be constructed in four months.

The plan calls for 11,000 feet of sewer mains and a lagoon.

The Community Development Block Grant provides economic development grants and loan funds to cities with a population under 50,000 and to counties under 200,000.

Kristi Jamison, a spokeswoman for the Department of Economic Development, said the state looks at a variety of factors when disbursing the grant money. She added that only 25 percent of grant applications are accepted.

"Each application gets points for certain things, like different matching resources, the need for the project, things like that," she said. "The ones that rate higher get precedence. We'd like to fund them all if we could. The needs are a lot bigger than what we have funds for.

Jamison said the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission filed the application on behalf of the village of Pocahontas.

bmiller@semissourian.com

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