Funding for millions in improvements to Warren County’s independent water districts has begun to roll in, driven in part by predicted growth in customer bases.

Heading the list is a $3.5 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development arm announced this week for the Hilldale Water District to build a new water well and treatment plant to add supply for its 1,800 customers centered in Oak Park subdivision.

As is the case in districts elsewhere in the county, growing residential development made the improvements necessary.

“There’s a number of new developments coming in,” Hilldale president Donald L. Robey said.

The well will provide 700 gallons of water per minute from the underground Sparta Aquifer in Hilldale’s service area, mainly east of Halls Ferry Road and south of Interstate 20. Treated water will flow through new lines to replace old PVC lines that have become brittle. A routine environmental study of the project by state and federal agencies found no significant impact on natural resources and historic properties.

Despite new rates adopted within the past year, no increases in bills are expected because Rural Development loan payments are stretched over 40 years, Robey said. Funds are sufficient for the project size and scope, general manager Bradley Barnes said.

In Hilldale’s service area, planned additions to Littlewood subdivision and completion of the planned Eastvillage development figure to stimulate the demand for water. The same has already occurred in the Culkin Water District, the largest outside of Vicksburg’s municipal water system. Growth is slower compared to past decades, but the needs are still present – 12 subdivisions are planned inside the water district’s service area.

“It’s slow, steady growth,” Culkin general manager Ken McClellan said. The district has 4,250 customers, up about 100 in the past year.

Installation of new hydrants and a water main in Redwood, made possible by loans from the Mississippi Department of Health, are about 90 percent complete, McClellan said.

A new, 300,000-gallon elevated tank in Bovina is the next addition, with an agreement on construction cost reimbursements via a grant from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers possible within a month.

A longer-range project, likely dependent on availability of federal money, involves construction of a fourth well to complement three existing ones. Capacity will increase the amount of water the district purifies from 2 million to 4 million gallons per day. Funding formulas in place for improvements in Culkin also included a $3.5 million general obligation bond issue passed by its governing board last year.

Fisher Ferry Water District’s most recent improvements to its 1,800-customer operation wrapped up in January 2006 with the installation of a treatment plant. Most recently, it allowed those outside its franchise area to receive service on privately-buried lines.

While no major projects are on the horizon, the district will adapt to changes as normal, general manager Cheryl Van Norman said.

Funds on hand will be used by the Yokena-Jeff Davis Water District for a new storage tank for its 967 customers, a project short of a timetable but gaining in clarity.

It requires approval from state health officials and, if the tank is located inside Vicksburg along its northern edge on Redbone Road, permitting from the city, district board of directors vice president Gwen Hogan said.

“There’s always questions as to how much growth we’re going to have,” Hogan said.

Eagle Lake Water Association hopes to see new water lines and storage tank completed by year’s end, association president Frances Sanders said.

Smallest of the five independent water providers with 588 meters, the association received a mix of grant funds to finance the project and will apply for loans to defray costs on the remainder, District 2 Supervisor William Banks said.