The small town of Rayville is located in Richland Parish, Louisiana. The community is in the heart of northeastern, LA., and is known for its southern charm, hospitality, and exciting industry. The residents of this lively town have depended on River Road Water Works for over forty years. 

River Road Water Works services 1,137 connections in and around Rayville, Louisiana. The water system meets monthly with a board of directors that makes sure that the system is compliant. Through the years, some previous managers who had served the system for more than twenty years, passed away. The remaining managers were less involved, so a new board took over, and completely new staff started working for the system. The new board needed to get the system’s finances back in order, which involved refinancing the outstanding USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and bank loans. 

The system has relied on Communities Unlimited for rate studies, updating operating procedures, and small water/wastewater loans for several years. In the fall of 2021, the system again reached out to CU for assistance. This time, they needed system upgrades and assistance meeting compliance with Louisiana’s Department of Health.  

River Road Water Works system was thirty years old, and upgrades were considered an emergency to meet the compliance they faced with the Department of Health. Communities Unlimited Lending Team worked with the system on a loan. CU’s Community Environmental Management Advisor also introduced the system to the Water Sector Program (ARPA), Schuler Consulting & Civil Engineering Company. Schuler Consulting will match CU’s funds for a grant. They proposed a large-scale project that includes North Booster station treatment and Rehabilitation of the South Storage tank, and the project will include costs for Professional Services.  

Communities Unlimited provided a loan to the system to consolidate its debt. They also began working with the system to conduct a rate analysis to ensure the system could not only repay the loan but could take on debt from long-range improvement plans. They also were able to address the administrative order. 

Communities Unlimited’s GIS Mapping Team will also get the system a much-needed map of their system. After a lot of hard work behind the scenes, the project will start in the fall of 2022.