Village of Viola Receives $250,000 USDA Grant

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin joined officials from U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development today to award the Village of Viola a $250,000 Community Facilities Disaster Grant. The grant will be used to assist in relocating streets and utilities in a portion of the community that is in a flood plain and also includes $1 million in leveraged funds through Tax Increment District Funding. The Kickapoo River flooded the village six times between 2007 and 2019 which resulted in water pumps failing and sewer mains creating backups in residences and businesses located in the floodplain. USDA started working with the village to address flooding remediation in the summer of 2019 which resulted in USDA funding a $30,000 Special Evaluation Assistance for Rural Communities and Households (SEARCH) Grant to research possible improvements to the wastewater collection and treatment system and possible relocation of the existing utilities. Baldwin says the project will include new water distribution lines to provide clean, safe and reliable water in the resettlement areas, including a new well.