NATCHEZ — The Adams County Water Association has received approximately $2.1 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to use on its water systems around Adams County.

Adams County Water Association General Manager Ken Herring said the Mississippi State Drinking Water Revolving Board approved $2,220,543 for the company to use on its 2010 projects.

The total sum is comprised of two monetary units — a $1.1 million EPA Regular Capitalization grant and $910,000 in ARRA no-match funds.

The ARRA money — which makes up approximately 45 percent of the water association’s total funding — is a no-strings-attached monetary addition that will go toward the projects the water association has planned.

“We’re going to install right at 60,000 feet of water lines throughout the county,” Herring said.

The water association will also be refurbishing two of its seven water treatment plants — one of which is located on Kingston Road.

“We’re going to remove the iron removal treatment process (from the two plants,) but it will be replaced by new equipment,” Herring said. “And we’re going to increase water output on these two plants.”

Herring said the state was granted $32 million in EPA grant money to allocate to counties within Mississippi, but as it is with many things, demand exceeded the state’s supply.

“There was $191 million worth of requests from the state, so we have to be very creative to get some of the funding,” Herring said.

“One thing we noticed with the stimulus funds is that 21 percent (of the funding) had to apply for green projects,” Herring said.

It was this realization that shaped the water association’s $1.1 million grant-awarded plan.

Herring said there are two stipulations placed on the county’s plans by the EPA.

One stipulation is the county must use American-made materials only — a specification he said the county should have no problem meeting.

“Most of the contractors and suppliers were ready for that,” Herring said. “There are so many people wanting work, and these contractors and suppliers are geared up for it.”

Also, the water association must begin its projects by February.

Herring said if all goes as planned, projects on the county’s water lines and two water treatment plants will be under way beginning in January.