Danville taxpayers expected to save big with loan for water treatment plant updates

Using a loan instead of bonds expected to save city about $100,000

DANVILLE, Va. – Big savings are in store for taxpayers in Danville thanks to a new financing option for a multimillion-dollar drinking water treatment plant update.

The city will use a $1 million loan from the Virginia Department of Health instead of issuing bonds, as was originally planned.

City Manager Ken Larking said that will save taxpayers about $100,000 over the 20-year life of the loan.

Included in the updates are the feeders that put carbon in the water to help control the bad smell and bad taste people sometimes report their water having.

The city has been working for years to try to figure out what may be causing the bad smell and taste.

"I think this upgrade actually does a little work on that feeder system that feeds carbon into the process and should be beneficial to our customers," Larking said.

The updates are expected to be completed by the end of the current fiscal year.