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"Waterways" Newsletter Winter 2010
Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project Hosts 41st Annual Water Is Life Luncheon
Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project will host its 41st Anniversary Water is Life Luncheon on Thursday, May 6 from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Roanoke Valley View on 3315 Ordway Drive in Roanoke.
The 41st Anniversary Water is Life Luncheon will celebrate those individuals and organizations that have helped bring clean water to low income rural communities throughout Virginia and the southeastern United States.
Tickets are $50 per person. Tickets may be purchased in advance by calling Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project at (866) 928-3731.
Sponsorship opportunities are available for individuals and businesses. Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor should contact Teresa Volk at (866) 928-3731 or tvolk@sercap.org.
Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project's mission is to promote the development of affordable water and wastewater facilities, activities, and resources to improve the quality of life for low income rural residents. Established in 1969, Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project provides more than 15 programs to help low income rural communities lead better lives through clean water.
Water Flowing to Baptist Valley
By GREG JORDAN, Bluefield Daily Telegraph
October 19, 2009
— NORTH TAZEWELL, Va. — Ground was broken Monday for a water project that will create 711 new residential sewer service connections.
The Baptist Valley Sewer Project will serve the areas of Adria and Baptist Valley. Supporters met at the Baptist Valley Central Church of Christ to celebrate the project’s start.
“This is a great day to be thankful for what we have,” Tazewell County Administrator Jim Spencer told the project’s supporters.
The new sewer system will improve the residents’ quality of life and create new possibilities for economic development, said U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va. “Currently, public wastewater services are not available in Baptist Valley, and residents rely on private septic systems,” Boucher said. “The soil conditions for septic systems in the area are poor, and the conditions prevent residents from making necessary septic system modifications and preclude any growth in the number of businesses and residents in the area. Additionally, the Baptist Valley area is in the Clinch Valley watershed, and the failing septic systems contribute to the river’s contamination.”
Extending sewage treatment service into Baptist Valley will also create new possibilities for residential growth and the expansion of business in the area, Boucher said. Construction of the system is expected to be finished within 18 months.
Financing for the $10,161,678 project came from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality–Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund for $4,634,378; Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, $4 million; Southern Rivers Watershed Enhancement, $927,300; Southwest Virginia Water/Wastewater Fund, $100,000; Southeast Rural Community Assistance, $50,000; and the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors, $450,000.
* Reprinted with permission by Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Southeast RCAP Celebrates 40th Anniversary
Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project (Southeast RCAP) hosted its 40th Anniversary Water is Life Luncheon on Thursday, May 7, 2009 in Roanoke, Virginia.
The 40th Anniversary Water is Life Luncheon celebrated those individuals and organizations that helped bring clean running water to low-income rural communities throughout Virginia and the southeastern United States.
Nikki Giovanni, world-renowned poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator, was the keynote speaker. The author of some 30 books for both adults and children, Nikki Giovanni is a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. She has received twenty-five honorary degrees as well as Governor's Awards from both Virginia and Tennessee.
To help celebrate the 40th Anniversary Water is Life Luncheon, writing contests about how clean water impacts our lives were held in area elementary schools. Greenfield Elementary School student Zachary St. Clair won first place for his essay “Water is Life” and Burlington Elementary School student Skylour Stultz won second place for her essay “What Water Means to Me.”
Southeast RCAP’s mission is to promote the development of affordable water and wastewater facilities, activities, and resources to improve the quality of life for low income rural residents. Established in 1969, Southeast RCAP provides more than 15 programs that help low income rural communities’ lead better lives through clean water.
Nikki Giovanni & Hope Cupit. Southeast RCAP Vice President & Deputy CEO
Well Loan Information:
Southeast RCAP offers very low interest loans to homeowners needing to drill new water wells or repair their water well systems. This service is offered through a grant from USDA--Rural Development. Please contact Beth Pusha' (bpusha@sercap.org) for more detailed information. Loan application forms are available on the Resources tab of this website.