Aug. 9--SNOW HILL -- The water in Snow Hill will have crisper, more refreshing taste when the town installs solar mixers to its water tanks later this year.

This month, the town was notified it will receive $91,000 in stimulus funding to pursue the solar mixer project.

"The solar mixers will help maintain the quality of water that is stored in the tanks and will help reduce the cost of maintenance," town administrator Bob Clark said. "Since they are solar powered, energy-wise, they will be very cost-effective."

Dana Hill, Snow Hill Public Works director, said the town currently has no way to mix the tanks.

"As it empties and fills back up, that is the only mixer we have," he said. "The solar mixers will run pretty much continuously and provide better water quality, creating less aesthetic issues with odors and discoloration."

Before the town can purchase any mixers, it will have to go through a bidding process, which is expected to begin sometime during the beginning of September.

Although the town received funds to purchase solar mixers, it was not awarded financing for its water line upgrade project, which has an estimated cost of $1.6 million.

Hill said the town will have to seek other forms of funding for the water line project.

"We're applying for some USDA funding," he said. "We're hoping to get a grant/loan mixture from them."

The project's budget could end up being reduced.

"I think we are going to try to scale back to a $1 million (budget) due to necessity," Hill said.

The Snow Hill Board of Commissioners authorized the town to pursue a USDA Rural Development grant/loan combination to provide additional funding for the waterline upgrade project.

"The interest rate looked very low," Clark said. "Loan payments would not need to start until a few years out after the project is under way."

Sarah Campbell can be reached at (252) 559-1076 or scampbell@freedomenc.com.

-----

To see more of The Free Press or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.kinston.com/.

Copyright (c) 2009, The Free Press, Kinston, N.C.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.