Clients of the Crooked Creek Water Association in LawrenceCounty will see some improvement in their water pressure once a$1.5 million improvement project is completed.

Isom Slay, vice president of the association, said he could notsay when construction on the improvements will begin or how longthe upgrade would take.

“We have to get bids so I really can’t say when we’ll be readyto begin,” he said. “We haven’t talked to anyone about how long itwould take.”

The nearly $1.5 million will be used to construct paralleldistribution lines to increase pressure and expand service to newcustomers.

Slay said the improvement should increase water pressurethroughout the system, but primarily in the north system and in theNorth Pleasant Hill area.

Funding for the project was achieved through a combination of agrant and a loan, both through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’sRural Development office. The Water and Waste Disposal Grantprovided $631,400 with a loan of $798,000 used to supplement thegrand. The loan is guaranteed over 40 years at 4.25 percent.

Smith’s Crossing Rural Water Association in Simpson County wasalso awarded a Water and Waste Disposal Loan of $338,100 toconstruct a 10-inch water main along U.S. Highway 49 to the newlyconstructed Copiah-Lincoln Community College campus. This willprovide “adequate and clean” water for the college.