(Des Moines, IA) – Rural Iowa communities have received more than $8 million in grants and loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development for the improvement of water and safety systems. According to news release from the department, the grants and loans will be used to purchase firetrucks, warning sirens and to upgrade wastewater and water distribution systems in 20 Iowa counties. More than $7 million of the total announced awards went to water improvement projects in Russell, Ricketts, Pisgah and the unincorporated community of Green Mountain in Marshall County.

The City of Pisgah, in Harrison County, was awarded a nearly $1.4 million loan and a $1.1 million grant for the construction of a new piping, electrical gear, pumps and controls at its wells and ground storage sites. The funding will also go toward emergency standby systems, replacing lead elements in service lines, building hydrants and main lines through parts of the city.

Other communities received a cumulative total of $192,400 in grants to upgrade public safety equipment.  Michael Sexton, the state’s rural development director, said the administration is “championing” infrastructure projects that give rural and agricultural communities “more solid footing for the future.”

In the news release, Sexton said the “USDA recognizes the unique challenges faced by smaller Iowa communities as the need for clean water and emergency response grows in places that support our nation’s essential food supply chains.”