RCAP Solutions works with communities to address a broad range of needs, including community infrastructure, and to promote public, environmental, and economic health. RCAP Solutions is a member of the Rural Community Assistance Partnership. RCAP is a national network of regional nonprofit organizations that provide comprehensive, on-site technical assistance and training to help small, rural communities address their drinking water, wastewater, and other community development needs.

RCAP Solutions Corporate Office:

205 School Street

Gardner, MA 01440

800-488-1969 www.rcapsolutions.org

2016

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The community of Putnam, Con-necticut has been working on long term sustainability by devel-oping and implementing Asset Management and Capital Im-provement Plans.

RCAP Solutions was requested and is assisting the Putnam Water Pollution Control Commission (WPCC) develop and implement an asset management and capital improvement plans. These plans will be electronic allowing up-dates to ensure they remain cur-rent. The development of these plans also qualifies the Putnam WPCC for principle forgiveness

from loans received to upgrade the utilities infrastructure.

Asset Management and Capital Improve-ment Planning is an essential task for wa-ter and wastewater systems to undertake. These plans lead to proper maintenance and replacement of critical infrastructure prior to an emergency event. This planning also leads to better budgeting, rate set-

Putnam, Connecticut—Asset Management and Capital Improvement Planning

The Tariffville Water Commission of the Tariffville Fire District in the Town of Simsbury, Connecti-cut provides water and fire pro-tection service to approximately 1,300 residents. The Commission had been prudent with finances and proactive with planning, but needed professional assistance in the completion of their asset and

Tariffville Water Commission, Simsbury, Connecticut

financial management plans to ensure the future success of their water system.

RCAP Solutions Staff met with the Commission and utilizing the work the volunteer Commission-ers had already completed and the EPA’s Check-Up Program for Small Systems, worked to create asset and fiscal management

plans for the sys-tem. The asset manage-ment plan pri-oritized the assets and mainte-nance require-ments of

the system and supported those initial improvements already planned for by the Commission. Additionally, the plan projects future needs of the system. Along with the corresponding fiscal management plan, and the com-mitment of the Commission to update these plans, this plan shall provide a useful tool for main-taining the water system into the future. The Commission had al-ready applied for funding in sup-port of system improvements to the water storage tank, replace-ment of the aging distribution mains and wellhead security im-provements through the State Revolving Fund. The State of Connecticut is now reviewing the plans and the complete plans al-low the state to offer a larger por-tion of grant and/or loan for-giveness for the project.

Tariffville Fire Station

ting, service and long term sus-tainability.

Putnam, Connecticut

3 

It is increasingly apparent that RCAP must assist small rural wa-ter utilities develop a holistic business plan which focuses on asset management in order to operate the system in a sustaina-ble manner. It is the long-term asset reserve that is financially critical and challenging to fund. However, it seems that individu-ally, no one system can save sig-nificant reserve funds to “buy down debt” of these expensive capital improvements while keeping customer rates reasona-ble. In many areas of rural New England, major employment de-creases have had a ripple effect to utility revenue available as expenses increase for the ever declining population base. Col-lectively, utilities working to-gether could be a solution.

RCAP Solutions is working with five utilities that are part of the nine-town River Valley Region of the Western Maine Economic De-velopment Council (WMEDC-

RVR) shown in Figure 1. “Public” water is delivered to about 12,000 people or 90% of the WMEDC-RVR population. The drinking water for the resi-dents of the four remaining towns is sourced by private wells. RCAP Solutions helped these five neighboring water util-ities produce an asset manage-ment plan using EPA’s CUPSS software. A quick view of each utility is shown in Table 1.

The hub of this region is the town of Rumford, the largest community and home to the largest area employer, Canadian-based Catalyst Corporation’s Wood Mill. The mill is the criti-cal economic lifeblood of the area and has been in slow decline for a number of years. The Rumford Water District* realizes about 30% of their revenue from the mill whereas the surrounding water utilities have many indi-rect benefits. A study by the Maine State Office of Policy and

Regional Partnerships Can Realize Collective Benefits

Continued on next page

Management (OPM) of popula-tion trends between 2010 and 2030 predict a population de-cline of 33% in the WMEDC-RVR. It is RCAP's observation that these utilities and towns need to 1) prepare for a lower revenue stream, 2) prudently ac-complish as much infrastructure repair/replacement as soon as possible, 3) collaborate in pur-chases and conducting infra-structure projects and 4) consider consolidating parts of their ad-ministrative operations. Consoli-dation of these utilities is not an option since they are operated by a bare minimum staff.

Historically, the State Department of Transportation and/or the towns’ public works schedules dictate the utilities’ asset replace-ments, specifically valves and pipes. Only secondarily are utili-ties notified if roads, culverts, sidewalks or bridges are on State

Table 1: Quick View of Utilities in this study (More details can be seen in the respective utility’s asset manage-ment plans-not included). State of Maine MHI is $48,453

or Town schedules for repaving. This silo scheduling creates in-terruptions with the water sec-tors’ normal replacement plans; it can also lead to replacing as-sets that have not reached their full useful life expectancy; pay-ment for such pre-spending is

the responsibility utility custom-ers or town residents*.

Using the asset management pro-cess, the utilities can generate a repair/replacement (R&R) cost schedule of aging assets. This R&R plan can then be integrated

4 

Van Buren is a small rural com-munity in the St. John Valley in northern Maine. The town has a population of 2200: The Van Bu-ren Water District serves the whole town.

The Van Buren water system has sustainability challenges with an older distribution system which has a lot of original 6 inch cast iron piping. The system experi-ences many winter main breaks and has a high unaccounted for water loss. Since the 1960’s like many rural communities, Van Bu-ren has experienced a population decline. Over the next 15 years it is estimated the population may decline by as much as 25% which will impact the water districts customer base and capital neces-sary for future upgrades and re-pairs.

As part of the necessary improve-ments to the water system, the District financed a new storage tank in 2015. The Van Buren Wa-ter District needed to evaluate the complete system inventory for

age, condition, consequence of failure and replacement cost to continue to plan for future addi-tional upgrades.

RCAP Solutions assisted the Van Buren Water District by first con-ducting a needs assessment to guide efforts with the develop-ment of an Asset Management Plan. RCAP Solutions assist with the analysis of the results and development an Equipment Re-placement Cost Schedule and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). RCAP Solutions then delivered a Board training of the results.

Van Buren, Maine Water District—Asset Management

Associated with these activities, the system’s decision makers have the necessary information to re-solve and identified needs for ef-fective utility management and sustainability. The district board can plan for future operational efficiencies along with a long-term financial outlook utilizing the CUPSS asset management soft-ware. Later in 2016, RCAP Solu-tions will follow-up with the Dis-trict as to how they are imple-menting the CIP to their budget and rate setting processes.

Van Buren: Gateway to the St. John’s Valley

with scheduling other infrastruc-ture improvements for the utility, town, region and state. This shar-ing can enhance planning infra-structure improvements. Such cooperation will sharpen the budget process for everyone.

As Table 1 shows, the MHI of the project towns are below the state MHI, thus they qualify for grant assistance from increasingly com-petitive (and dwindling) federal and state programs. Traditional-ly, each water utility hires an en-gineering firm to scope their nec-essary capital improvements. In-dividually, they submit funding

applications and separately bid-out construction. Consequently, they compete and are “ranked” against each other at two very important projects stages: fund-ing and construction. In this pro-ject example, the collective utili-ties total distribution pipe is 76 miles. The amount of pipe, which generally relates to the amount of total assets, pales when compared to large and very large water systems. Ac-cordingly, if these small, neigh-boring utilities are treated as “one system”, economies of scale are visible. Hiring one engineer-ing firm for design and one con-

struction company enhanced by bulk purchases of similar pipe, hydrants, valves, etc. could create cost savings on total collaborative project. Additionally, applying collectively for funding assistance would realize ranking advantages with the federal and state agen-cies. Collectively, small “orphan” projects can be grouped to form a larger project which would realize improved bidding and favorable funding. Improvements on such “orphan” assets in need of replace-ment will prevent the run-to-failure approach typical of small systems.

5 

The contract operator, United Water/Suez, contacted RCAP So-lutions in need of a certified com-bination back flow tester and cross connection surveyor. Ini-tially the program consisted of organizing all testing and survey-ing paperwork. The next step was to visit every commercial site, in-cluding all water and wastewater facilities to determine if proper backflow protection was ade-quate. All testing of devices and surveying was completed each month, to stay in compliance with all local, state and federal regula-tions. RCAP continues to take the lead role in both backflow testing

and cross connection surveying every month.

Hyannis Water System, Barnstable, Massachusetts

Beebe River is a municipal owned water system in Campton, New Hampshire in need of upgrades to the distribution system. The al-leged looped distribution system, comprised of 2 ½ or 3 inch cast iron pipe requires: curbstops for each connections; gate valves to enable logical isolation of the sys-

Beebe River Water System, Campton, New Hampshire

tem for water line maintenance; gate valve exercising; and con-firmation location of suspected waterline locations that may harboring stagnant water a pub-lic health concern.

RCAP Solutions was asked to help move the project forward

by helping map the system and assist in the prepa-ration of a request for proposal. Af-ter gathering back-ground infor-mation from NHDES and ap-proval from the public water sys-tem representa-tives, RCAP Solu-tions coordinated a meeting with people knowl-edgeable of the

system’s history including: in-

cluded longtime residents, past operators, and other technical ser-vice providers.

The group met October 15, 2015 onsite and used record drawings and the combined knowledge of the system’s history to determine the most likely system configura-tion. The collaborated efforts re-sulted in Bebee River’s buried as-sets being located. The walk of the system enabled the group: to con-firm the location of gatevalves; define alterative solutions de-pending on excavation discover-ies; and come up with a prelimi-nary plan and subsequent tasks.

RCAP took the information col-lected during the onsite visit, up-dated the record drawings and submitted a request for proposal to the funding primacy agency - NHDES. Construction is set to begin in March of 2016.

Hyannis Water System

Beebe River Water System Map

6 

Ogdensburg Borough is a rural community located on the Wallk-ill River in Sussex County, New Jersey, approximately 50 miles northwest of New York City, NY. Ogdensburg Borough covers ap-proximately 2.3 square miles and was the formerly the home of the New Jersey Zinc Company which was opened in 1890. This famous mine is now a popular tourist attraction and mining museum.

According to the 2010 US Census data, there are 881 households in the Borough with a Median Household Income of $60,313. The Borough population is 2,638. There are 158 low income house-holds or 18% of the overall com-munity.

At the request of a USDA/RUS Loan Specialist, RCAP Solutions was asked to provide technical assistance in helping the commu-nity with a rate analysis and rate restructuring plan for the water system.

RCAP Solutions staff met several times with the system CFO to review and analyze finances.

Overall, the system was in good fiscal shape making debt service payments and funding reserve accounts. RCAP Solutions identi-fied that Ogdensburg was draw-ing down heavily on reserve funds to balance the budget. RCAP Solutions learned that a new billing system had been put in place and that the transition period from the old system was when budget deficits had begun. The billing system software had some bugs pertaining to decimal point placement with remote me-

Ogdensburg Borough, New Jersey—Wastewater

ter readings from newly installed meters when uploaded to print customer bills. This problem was corrected by the vendor, but may have led to under billing of cus-tomers. Also during the billing system transition, only half the system received new meters. The remainder of customers self-reported their bills via a card mail in system. The accuracy of the customer readings was not verified for accuracy by system staff. This system could have caused under billing and lost revenues. In FY 2013, at RCAP Solutions suggestion, a resolu-tion was passed to replace all system meters with the newer remote read models.

AS of FY 2015, Ogdensburg fi-nances have stabilized since the

meter installation and RCAP Solu-tions staff will continue to moni-tor finances. RCAP Solutions will provide technical assistance to the Ogdensburg Borough by confirm-ing financial status with a rate analysis and rate restructuring plan for the Boroughs water sys-tem, as needed. This will build capacity at the local level by ena-bling them continue to have suffi-cient revenues to cover operating expenses and debt service pay-ments while replenishing reserve accounts. Upon completion of the rate analysis, RCAP Solutions will check with the operations staff to determine if further technical as-sistance can be provided by up-dating Emergency Response Plans or NJ DEP required Operations and Maintenance Planning.

Backwards Tunnel, aka the Ogdensburg Railroad Arch, is listed on the Na-tional Register of Historic Places.

7 

The Village of Naples is located just south of Canandaigua Lake, one of New York’s beautiful Fin-ger Lakes.

In ancient times the Finger Lakes were actually rivers. Deep river valleys were made wider and deeper by glaciers that moved through, leaving behind debris that dammed the rivers, creating long deep lakes and steep-sided valleys. On top of the ridges which can be as much as a third of a mile high, the weather can be very different from the milder valleys below. The softer valley climate is ideal for growing grapes, resulting in a flourishing wine and wine-related tourism industry. Interestingly enough, it is the wine that is helping Na-ples to finally have a municipal sewer system.

The Village is unusual for a com-munity of almost 600 residences in that it does not have a public sewer system. Even properties

Naples, New York

on small lots within the dense business district are still served by septic systems. Proposed municipal sewer projects have been rejected by residents on multiple occasions in the past, both because of the anticipated user costs, but also because the outlying properties that are on larger lots have sufficient space for a fully functioning septic system. Ultimately the Village decided to propose a service area to serve only the densely populated downtown area without requiring properties on the outskirts to hook into the system. At the same time, they were able to negotiate with the local winery to share the win-ery’s underutilized wastewater treatment system.

In an effort to make the pro-posed project more affordable for residents, RCAP Solutions assisted the Village to complete an income survey to document

financial eligibility for outside funding programs. As a result of this successful documentation of financial need, the Village was able to secure $4.5 million in zero-percent-interest loan from the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund (CWSRF) and $600,000 in Community Development Block Grant Funds. They were also able to secure a $250,000 grant from the Dormitory Authority of New York State (DASNY) and are ap-plying for additional grant money through the New York State Wa-ter Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2015.

This combination of funding will enable the Village to keep user costs at an affordable level. The Village is looking forward to the community revitalization that will be stimulated and encouraged by at last having a safe and robust public wastewater treatment sys-tem.

Village of Naples, New York

8 

Brave, Pennsylvania

Clockwise from top left: Brave Compressor Station, 1940s; Brave Brass Fittings Plant without Compressor Station, 2015; New Wa-ter Meter; Brave Maps for Water Sys-tem; Brave Water and Sewer Board Members Review Maps

The village of Brave is a tiny ham-let on the banks of Dunkard Creek in southwestern Pennsylvania.

About 100 years ago, Peoples Nat-ural Gas Company of Pittsburgh decided this community was suit-able for the largest gas compres-sor station in the world. The com-pressor remained in operation from 1906 to 1959. Two dams were created by People’s Natural Gas and other amenities were added including public water, public sewer, telephone service, an elementary school and an ice plant. Today Brave is considered a census-designated place in Wayne Township, Greene County Pennsylvania. It lies in Pennsyl-vania’s southwestern corner near the West Virginia Border. As of 2010, the population was 201 with about 80 household connections.

The Brave Wastewater Treatment Plant provides service to the vil-lage of Brave in Wayne Township, Pennsylvania with a service area of approximately two miles. The

biggest concern of the Authority is the condition of the treatment plant and collection system.

The Brave Water Authority serves approximately 200 per-sons and purchases water from the Morgantown Utility Board, which draws raw water from the Monongahela River and Cobun Creek Reservoir. The Morgan-town Utility Board is responsible for providing the primary water treatment of water and monitor-ing of water quality.

This community has faced some serious challenges which prompted them to ask for RCAP Solutions assistance. Greene County has been working steadi-ly to keep the system moving forward and many personnel from the county level have ex-pended time and efforts here. The county also requested RCAP technical assistance. RCAP Solu-tions is just beginning work here, so technical assistance tasks and roles are being identified. Cur-

rently RCAP Solutions staff are assisting the utility with preserv-ing their maps and generating da-ta sets of their water and sewer system that allow the manager/operator to develop an overall as-set inventory of his system. RCAP Solutions staff will also be assisting the system to remain fi-nancially viable through ongoing assistance related to budgeting and financial management. Most recently, RCAP Solutions staff have also assisted the system to identify a state-certified auditor to assist on financial audits. The sys-tem has slowly made improve-ments to the wastewater system and they are looking at improve-ments to the water system includ-ing tank painting and meter re-placement. Outcomes of this RCAP Solutions technical assis-tance to this small system are im-proved public health, improved economic vitality, and empower-ment to the system manager, board and community.

9 

The Glendale Water Association is a small, private water supplier that consists of one well, one pump and thirty residential service connec-tions in a small neighborhood in Glendale, a village of Burrillville, Rhode Island. The homes and wa-ter system were originally con-

Glendale Water Association, Burrillville, Rhode Island

The village of Pownal, Vermont, has a fledgling public water system, by today’s standards. The water system was constructed in 1998, with financing coming from the United States Department of Agri-culture. The system is managed by Pownal Fire District #2 and serves about 140 homes in the southern-most of Pownal’s three villages. The system generally consists of a well, several miles of distribution system piping, 34 fire hydrants, and a 250,000 gallon storage tank. Faced with the rising costs of operating the water system, in 2015 the Pru-dential Committee considered the option of installing a 150-kilowatt solar array on the well field. Their goal was to find another source of revenue for the system to avoid a rate increase. Following a conten-tious vote in August of 2015, resi-dents of the Fire District rejected the project. Within a month the en-tire Prudential Committee had re-signed.

Pownal Fire District #2 is now gov-

Pownal, Vermont

erned by a new Prudential Com-mittee, made up by three volun-teer residents concerned about the fate of the water system and of the village. RCAP Solutions has begun to develop a multi-tiered approach to assist with this transition; help-ing the water system achieve tech-nical, managerial, and financial sustainability is the foremost goal. To get started, RCAP Solutions conducted an assessment of the system with the assistance of the Committee Chair. Coupled with frequent meetings and ongoing discussion, this assessment will serve as a roadmap for providing the guidance that will help Pownal Fire District #2 to remain viable. Examples of assis-tance that RCAP So-lutions anticipates providing include: an

examination of operating costs, user rates and budget projections; the updating of ordinances and bylaws; the development of an asset man-agement program; and board train-ing on regulatory issues surround-ing water system operation.

Shortly after the resignation of the Prudential Committee in the fall of 2015, residents of the village issued a statement reading, “We encourage transparency, good governance and community involvement in the fu-ture water board." With the assis-tance of RCAP Solutions, Pownal Fire District #2 will be in a position to meet these expectations.

structed in the 1950s by the U.S. Army as housing for the military families. It is now managed by the Association, whose members are composed of resident volunteers. The recent departure of their vol-unteer resident operator left the board members to inherit a failing well pump, broken backup gener-ator and a current rate structure that cannot support the needs of the system. A crash course in sam-pling protocol got the system the attention of the Rhode Island De-partment of Public Health, who directed RCAP Solutions to assist the system.

RCAP Solutions Specialists are

working to assist the system to achieve compliance and get con-nected with the resources to suc-cessfully manage the system going forward. They have facilitated mul-tiple meetings between the board, primacy, USDA funding and resi-dents to implement a new rate structure and assessment that al-lowed for the replacement of the well pump and the repair of the emergency generator. RCAP Solu-tions Specialists are continuing to work on an ongoing operation and maintenance plan, asset manage-ment and the completion of an emergency response plan and vul-nerability assessment.

Harrisville Waterfall

250,000 gallon water storage tank, Pownal Fire District #2

10 

Agustinillo Sector, Barrio Collores, Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico

Collores is one of the most named barrios in Juana Díaz PR. It was the birth place of poet Luis Llorens Torres, one of the most important journalist of the first decades in the XX century in PR. As lawyer, playwright, politician and poet, he was responsible for the immortalization of the beauty of the rural areas of Collores in his writings. But in recent dec-ades some of the beauty of “El Valle de Collores” was lost as a result of poor management of the

solid waste.

Due to the collaborative strategy and the efforts between the “Solid Waste Taskforce” members and the commu-nities, we can appreci-ate a positive change. The Natural Re-sources De-partment contacted

RCAP to refer a situation with the establishment of an illegal dumping site in the Agustinillo Sector at the road 512 km 4.2. The place near the river is been used for the accumulation of sol-id waste for future pickup by the municipality. Using the infor-mation in the RCAP Solutions solid waste brochure published in the community newspaper, some residents called the DRNA Vigilant Corp. to complain about the problem. The lieutenant in

charge, looking for a more proac-tive way to deal with the situa-tion, oriented the residents in the sector and some interviews were made by RCAP Solutions TAP.

“The residents who agree with this practice alleged that the area was des-ignated by the municipality employees who collect the materials. They also claimed that the collection service has been delayed for a few weeks; accord-ing to them, maybe more than two months.”

The evaluation of the materials sug-gested the improper disposal by a wooden cabinet’s manufacturer. The community leaders were informed to orient the residents in the area to be aware of the situation.

With the assistance of the DRNA the residents were oriented about the consequences of that practice for the environ-ment, the river and their health, also the legal penalties associated with the intervention from the DRNA and the police.

The community ceases the practice and contact-ed the municipality of-ficers for the collection with the information provided during our intervention. TAP call the Juana Díaz DTOP

Director to let him know about the situation and coordinate the re-moval of the materials. The DRNA on their part contacted JD DTOP to require action on the collection

Continued on next page

11 

of the materials. The municipality took action immediately.

With the participation of residents of the Agustinillo sector, TAP per-formed a cleaning and restoration of the area used for illegal dump-ing. The small illegal dumping site in progress was stopped and eliminated. The place was pro-gramed for the developing of a land scape that will be adopted by community members. Communi-ty groups such as; the Colectivo Valle de Collores, were involved in the process and additional members of other sectors will be contributing with the design of a landscape.

The DRNA donated endemic bushes for the place. The activity was reported to the Regional Of-fices of DRNA and all stakehold-ers, as a result of this, the State Department of Transportation and Public Works collaborated with the initiative and invited the com-munity to their nursery for orien-tation and selection of other orna-mental plants. The adoption of the area is going to be made formally by DTOP. The residents are in the process of developing a project in

which they can integrate food crops and ornamen-tals in the area in order to address the inter-est of resi-dents with dif-ferent in-terests. Some ba-

nana trees were planted in the background as suggested.

The PR Natural Resources De-partment Vigilant Corp was pre-sent on the cleanup and the pos-sible violators of the law were identified for orientation about the situation and the possible repercussions of their behavior.

A sign donated by Colectivo Valle de Collores was placed in the area with a positive message: “Isla Adentro: peces, flores, pájaros, aire puro, aguas cristalinas…Consérvalos.” (Inside Island: fish, flowers, birds, pure air, crystal clear waters…Preserve it).

After a few months the place re-mains clean and the donated plants are in the area waiting for the final design and the top soil conditioning. Collores is going back to be the idyllic place nostal-gically described by one of its fa-vorite sons; who immortalized its rural beauty before the solid waste were part of the scene. Thanks to the team work of the taskforce cre-ated by RCAP Solutions and the community support Collores is changing for good; the empower-ment of the community is taking place in the solid waste manage-ment and we are convinced of the success of or approach.

PR, DTOP Plant Nursery

Isla Adentro: peces, flores, pájaros, aire puro, aguas cristalinas…Consérvalos. Inside Island: fish, flowers, birds, pure air, crystal clear waters…Preserve it.

12 

La Casa-Limones Community a Persisting Public Water System To have Safe, Reliable Drinking Water

La Casa community of Limones barrio is located in southeastern Puerto Rico in the municipality of Yabucoa. The area is predomi-nantly agricultural and forested terrain. Most residents work in the area, either in small business-es or in agriculture and animal husbandry. The community is a very small, incorporated and low-income that needs to up-grade their existing water system to im-proved water services. Eng. Josefa Torres, RCAP Solutions technical assistance provider (TAP), began working with the community in 1995 after a referral from local En-vironmental Protection Agency (EPA). The aqueduct was not reg-ister in the Puerto Rico Depart-ment of Health (PRDOH) drink-ing water inventory list as a com-munity water system.

The community water system of La Casa, consisted of a deep well and a very small tank that was constructed for 15 families, but now is providing water to 46 fam-ilies. They highest area of the community, most of the time con-fronts poor water service due to lack of water, localization and storage capacity of tank.

For years, RCAP Solutions has worked with the organization and administration to empower the community and increase their technical, managerial and finan-

cial (TMF) capacity. The key is-sues in the community involve reliable water source, storage tank, and adequate distribution network pipeline as individual meters. While new infrastructure is require for the solutions, the community will address it with a USDA Rural Development (RD) drinking water project. A signifi-cant level of community empow-erment is needed and required throughout voluntary communi-ty effort. The RD project will consists of upgrading the com-munity ground water source, acquisition of land, construction of new storage tank, installation of individual meters and replace-ment of distribution lines. La Casa community began the loan process, but problems with land owner of Well site delay it for several years. To resolve the is-sue in a rapid way, the commu-nity requested the support of the Yabucoa municipality. The mu-nicipality agreed to be the pro-ponent of project. Throughout the years, other issues happen, such as long process of the land expropriation, change in contrac-tor and municipal political party. These situations hold back the execution of project. After long process, La Casa Project was on

track and construction finally, be-gan. The project is not completed, but is underway and expected to be finish before the end of 2016.

In this process, RCAP Solutions has been a key element to move and resolve issues. The TAP has been the liaison contact between the community, primacy agency, municipality, consultant, contrac-tor and USDA RD. The TAP have also assisted the community in verifying the operation and maintenance of the aqueduct, with interpretation of actual and new DW regulations, by providing technical assistance to ensure that distributed water is as secure as possible with existing system in-frastructure and source; providing technical expertise to help com-munity assess and be prepare to change their economic structure.

In summary, while La Casa com-munity water system has made progress in addressing most of the requirements under the SDWA, the community still faces serious compliance issue that is expected to be resolved once this USDA RD DW project is all completed. RCAP Solutions will still have to continue with the T/A to assist community develop their Emer-gency Response Plan (ERP) re-quire by RD.

Top: Construction of water stor-age Tank; Right: Well in process for rehabilitation

13 

Corcovada, Puerto Rico Solar Project

The Corcovada community is lo-cated at the Northwest area of Puerto Rico in the town of Anas-co. The community population is 142 families (3 members’ average) and has a water system composed of two wells (Well #1 and Well #2) and a distribution tank of 23,000 gallons. The Well #1 is pro-ducing 32 gallons per minute, and the Well # 2 is producing 45 gal-lons per minute. Their main prob-lem right now is the high cost of energy they have each month. They submitted a proposal to USDA RD for financing a Solar Project for the operation of the Water System to lower the monthly costs of energy. The pro-posal was evaluated and ap-proved by USDA RD. USDA RD requested from RCAP Solutions to provide technical assistance

and give follow up to the project. The project consists of eighty four (84) solar panels with three power inverters of seven (7) Kilo-watts (Kw) each, for a total of twenty one (21) Kw needed by the community to completely operate their water system. The construction and installation of the solar panels started on De-cember 6, 2014. RCAP Solutions visited the facilities during the installation and met with the community Board president and the engineer in charge of the pro-ject. RCAP Solutions provided technical assistance and advice during the project development. The project was completed on January 2015. In order to start operation, a certification from the Puerto Rico Energy and Power Authority (PREPA) is needed.

The PREPA Technician inspected the facilities on August 2015 and requested a Permit of Use from the Office of Management and Permits. The Office of Manage-ment and Permits certified by let-ter on January 2016 that this pro-ject does not need a Permit of Use. The letter was delivered to the PREPA office and now the com-munity is waiting for the certifica-tion that will take around twenty (20) days. The project will result in a reduction of the Puerto Rico En-ergy and Power Authority bill of the community of Corcovada. The savings in energy bill will be very useful to cover other community needs. This project will be the first one in Puerto Rico that uses the solar energy to operate a water system.

Corcovada, Puerto Rico Solar Project

14 

Community Resources Administration

Karen A. Koller, CAE President & CEO 978-630-6630, kkoller@rcapsolutions.org Scott Mueller Chief Community Services Officer & Director Rural Assistance 315-482-2756, smueller@rcapsolutions.org State Offices: Maine: Arthur Astarita State Lead for Maine | Water Resource Specialist 207-766-3065, aastarita@rcapsolutions.org Rebecca Reynolds Community Development Specialist for Maine 207-338-1126, rreynolds@rcapsolutions.org Massachusetts, Rhode Island & Connecticut: Emil Coviello Drinking Water Specialist for So. New England 508-948-8909, ecoviello@rcapsolutions.org Mia McDonald Drinking Water Specialist for So. New England 508-340-0998, mmcdonald@rcapsolutions.org James P. Starbard Program Resource Specialist 978-502-0227, jstarbard@rcapsolutions.org New Hampshire & Vermont: Mark Johnson State Lead for New Hampshire 802-505-1037, mjohnson@rcapsolutions.org Kathy Rodgers Water Technician Specialist 603-748-9207, krodgers@rcapsolutions.org New York: Candace Balmer Water Resource Specialist for New York 845-247-3511, cbalmer@rcapsolutions.org

Pennsylvania & New Jersey: Thomas W. Essig Jr. State Lead for Pennsylvania & New Jersey | Water Resource Specialist 717-766-0969, tessig@rcapsolutions.org Sukhwindar P. Singh Director of Education & Training 814-861-7072, ssingh@rcapsolutions.org Seth Loht GIS Specialist 814-289-9340, sloht@rcapsolutions.org Puerto Rico & U.S. Virgin Islands: Josefa Torres-Olivio District Director | Puerto Rico & U.S. Virgin Islands 787-725-6523, josefa@rcapsolutions.org Juan Campos Collazo Community Development Specialist for Puerto Rico 787-374-0196, jcollazo@rcapsolutions.org Edwin Vazquez-Asencio Sustainable Materials Management Specialist 787-445-0076, evazquez-asencio@rcapsolutions.org

John Linehan Deputy Director of Rural Development 978-630-6658, jlinehan@rcapsolutions.org

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The Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) is a national network of nonprofit organizations working to ensure that rural and small communities throughout the United States have access to safe drinking water and sanitary wastewater disposal. The six regional RCAPs – its partners or affiliates – provide a variety of programs in their section of the United States to accomplish this goal, such as direct training and technical assistance; leveraging millions of dollars to assist communities devel-op and improve their water and wastewater systems. The work in communities is coordinated and carried out by each of RCAP’s region-al partners. The network includes a national office in Washington, D.C., that coor-dinates funding, reporting and finances for the programs and handles communica-tions at a national level for the network. For more information, visit www.rcap.org.

Regional Partners