Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs announced almost $11 million in federal grant funding was awarded to 23 rural Hoosier communities across 5 programs.

Applications for Round 1 of the federal Community Development Block Grant were due to OCRA on April 7. The State of Indiana distributes CDBG funds to rural communities in an effort to ensure health and safety, and to improve the quality of life of citizens.

Silver Lake and South Whitley are recipients of the Wastewater Drinking Water Program. The goals of the Wastewater Drinking Water Program are to protect the health and environment, reduce utility rates for low-to-moderate income communities and improve rural infrastructure to enable long-term economic growth. Eligible WDW projects include many aspects of wastewater improvements and drinking water system improvements.

Silver Lake has been awarded $500,000 for construction of sanitary sewer improvements. This project will entail the construction of a 6 inch force main, installation of new pumps, and the construction of four storm sewer lines to alleviate inflow/infiltration problems. This will benefits the residents of Silver Lake by reducing inflow/infiltration of the existing sanitary sewer system thus eliminating system wide sanitary sewer back-ups.

South Whitley has been awarded $550,000 for replacement and improvements to the drinking water systems. This project will replace and add lines, hydrants, and valves in selected areas and install a new iron filtration system in the water treatment plant. It will benefit residents who reside in town limits of South Whitley by improving the quality and safety of the drinking water.