Contact: Ernie Blazar 202.224.7627 Shana Stribling 202.224.0309
Monday, June 17, 2002

GREEN CITY, MO - Senator Kit Bond today announced that north central Missouri will receive $500,000 in federal dollars for a regional water supply study. As ranking member of the Senate VA-HUD Appropriations Committee, Bond is able to secure funding for important projects throughout Missouri.

“In 2000 I was able to bring $500,000 to the region to link water districts together as part of the emergency effort to keep drinking water flowing through the region during the continued drought,” said Bond during a visit to Green City’s City Hall. “Today I am happy that I am here again with another $500,000 to help plan for a long term answer to water shortage issues in north central Missouri.”

Bond’s initial $500,000 grant in fiscal year 2000 linked Sullivan County’s water district with Grundy County’s, providing a “stop gap” system to keep the water flowing amidst the drought. The north central region has had numerous summers of drought and suffers from water shortages due to the lack of aquifers and substantial surface storage.

Recognizing that the money he secured in 2000 was a temporary fix to the water problem, Bond has worked to find a permanent solution for the region, such as building surface storage capacity.

The $500,000 Bond secured in the fiscal year 2002 VA/HUD appropriations bill will be a first step in providing a long-term answer to the region’s water problem. The funds will be used for initial engineering and planning for a large reservoir. The reservoir will be located north east of Milan on East Locust Creek near the village of Boynton. The reservoir will provide up to 6 million gallons of water per day through an expanded water treatment plant at Milan.

Bond served Missouri twice as Governor and now continues his service to Missourians in the United States Senate.