$3.72 million water system reconstruction underway in Wahneta

WAHNETA — Ground was officially broken Wednesday for the installation of pipe that will provide better water quality and pressure for the community and less work for those who maintain it.

Developers, engineers, construction workers, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials and Wahneta Water System employees gathered to celebrate the beginning of the construction phase of a project that will remove and replace asbestos cement pipe that has been there since 1963.

"It was just old and brittle and hard to work with," said Daniel Magro, managing director of Aclus Engineering in Orlando. "There have been lots of challenges. It's great to see all these things coming together."

The $3.72 million project is funded through a USDA grant and 30-year, low-interest loan. About 46 percent, or $1.77 million, is through grant money allocated in a 2014 Farm Bill. The remaining 54 percent, or about $1.95 million, will be paid through the loan.