Release No. 0472.09
Contact:
Office of Communications (202) 720-4623
AN ARRA SUCCESS STORY: 709 OKLAHOMA RESIDENTS GET RELIABLE, SAFE DRINKING AND WASHING WATER
50 Miles from Nearest Large Town, Rural Residents Were Hauling Water
McCurtain County, Okla., Sept. 25, 2009 - It's a hard living when your daily major concern is getting safe drinking water or figuring out how you can take a bath because your well has either dried up or the water isn't safe. But now, thanks to a combination of $23.6 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants and loans from USDA's Rural Development, the people who live in rural McCurtain County, Oklahoma, will have that safe drinking water and won't have to choose between washing their dirty clothes or taking a bath.
Watch this ARRA success story video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vgvs2MBcri0.
The folks in McCurtain County are using the Recovery Act funds to build a new water system for the area - four pump stations, three storage tanks and miles of distribution lines.
McCurtain County is one of 14 persistent poverty counties in Oklahoma. USDA's Economic Research Service defines counties as being persistently poor if 20 percent or more of the people who live there were poor over the last 30 years - using the decennial censuses.
This project is just one of hundreds of USDA success stories made possible through the Recovery Act. Altogether, the Department has announced approximately $27.8 billion of the $28.0 billion in Recovery Act projects, benefiting people throughout the country.
President Obama signed The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law on Feb. 17, 2009. It is designed to jumpstart the nation's economy, create or save millions of jobs and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century. The Act includes measures to modernize our nation's infrastructure, enhance energy independence, expand educational opportunities, preserve and improve affordable health care, provide tax relief, and protect those in greatest need.
More information about USDA's Recovery Act efforts is available at www.usda.gov/recovery. More information about the Federal government's efforts on the Recovery Act is available at www.recovery.gov.
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