REMERTON — A little help from state leaders will help a former mill town bring in cleaner water for its citizens and businesses.

Remerton was recently approved for a $392,000 Georgia Fund loan, according to a press release from Chris Clark, Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority executive director. The loan will finance the installation of meters and backflow prevention equipment to connect Remerton to the Valdosta’s water system, Clark stated in the release.

Remerton is eligible for a discounted loan rate as a Georgia Signature Community, Clark said in the release, and will pay a 3.77 percent interest rate on the 15-year loan.

“Infrastructure improvements increase quality of life for Georgia citizens, and they help cities and counties create jobs and promote economic development,” Gov. Sonny Perdue stated in the release. “I’m pleased this investment is being made in water system infrastructure.”

“In addition to the public’s health and safety, these projects are critical to communities across Georgia and to their ability to prosper economically,” Clark stated in the release.

Discussions about purchasing water from the city of Valdosta began after the engineering firm of Camp, Dresser, and McKee Inc. returned to the Remerton City Council following a water study, which began in the fall of 2007, with recommendations for improving the odor, color and taste of the former mill town’s water supply. The firm presented four alternatives at a special called meeting in June 2008, one of which included purchasing water from Valdosta through three connection points.

Remerton city officials were quoted in a June 3, 2008, WCTV news story saying Remerton’s municipal water supply had exceeded the maximum contaminant level for haloacetic acid, a byproduct of chlorine. Officials said, at the time, that Remerton’s water posed no health threat to residents.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, there may be an increased risk of cancer as a result of long-term consumption of water with levels of haloacetic acid that exceed the maximum contaminant level. Haloacetic acids is classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a being possibly carcinogenic to humans because there is evidence of such in experimental animals.

Though purchasing water from Valdosta will cost less than the other alternatives, the idea still met with resistance from citizens who feared the agreement would limit the autonomy of the town, according to a July 17, 2008, story in The Valdosta Daily Times. Remerton was under a consent order from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division for disinfection byproducts at the time the July 17 article was published.

When the water connection issue came to a vote at a July 13, 2008, Remerton City Council meeting, the vote was 3 to 2 in favor of connecting to the city of Valdosta’s water system. Councilmembers Sherry Wood and Ryan Gordon opposed.

An agreement to sell water to the small municipality was unanimously approved by the Valdosta City Council at its Oct. 22, 2008 meeting. The agreement covers the volume of water Remerton can purchase, rates, review of plans to tie on to Valdosta’s system, costs of capital equipment, ownership of infrastructure connections, meters, and other details agreed to by the parties.

Bill Kent with ASA Engineering gave an update regarding water looping and tie in to Valdosta’s water system at Remerton’s City Council work session Dec. 1, 2008. Kent said the project should be completed by the end of April, though water would be available to Remerton residents before that.

“Assuming Remerton’s council approves the lowest responsive bidder and can get contracts signed, we still intend, by the end of April, that they can get it done,” Kent said.

Mike Terrell, Remerton interim city manager, said Wednesday the Georgia Fund loan will enable Remerton to move forward with the project. He foresees no problem in connecting to Valdosta’s water system on schedule.