BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and the city of Zachary closed a loan Monday of $9,300,000 for use on the rehabilitation and replacement of sewer collection lines and pump stations in areas throughout the city.

The funds are being provided to Zachary for the project as a 0.95 percent interest loan with a 20 year payback term; plus an additional two years for construction.

The loan is part of DEQ's Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which provides low-cost funding to communities for the planning, design and construction of wastewater infrastructure.

Emergency generators and a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system will also be installed at each lift station.

“Upgrading and maintaining the wastewater and sewage treatment infrastructure across the state is a vital component of DEQ’s mission to protect human health and the environment,” said DEQ Secretary Peggy Hatch. “The ongoing goal of sewage system revitalization throughout Louisiana is part of DEQ’s concerted effort to get funding to the towns and municipalities that meet the criteria set by the department for these types of projects.”

The newly improved wastewater collection system will fix decades old infrastructure which consists of deteriorated clay and concrete pipes.

A recent hydraulic analysis determined that six pump stations and approximately 3,300 linear feet of lines are undersized.

The structural failure and low capacity of the existing system has caused major concerns for Zachary as the resulting infiltration and inflow causes surcharges, manhole overflows and residential backups.