( KNZA )--Regional rural communities are selected for assistance to improve water and wastewater services by USDA Rural Development. 

The annoucement of the funding follows an Earth Day commemoration held in the City of Holton, at the location of Public Wholesale Water Supply District #18, which, last year, received a $1.6 million dollar loan to update the water district's filtration system. 

Now, nine new projects have been selected to share more than $17.7 million dollars to make improvements. 

Locally, that includes the Doniphan County community of Troy, selected for a $3.13 million dollar loan, to be used to repair, and or replace, over 41-thousand linear feet of sewer collection line, 1,250 feet of manholes and 120 service connections. Funding will replace the City's entire sewage collection system. Troy also received $500,000 from the Kansas Department of Commerce’s Community Development Block Grant Program. 

The Brown County community of Robinson receives a $797,000 loan to repair 9,050 linear feet of sewer collection lines, 85 feet of manholes and 73 service connections. 

The work is the final phase of the City's sewer improvement project. 

An additonal $444,000 was provided to Robinson by the Kansas Department of Commerce’s Block Grant Program. 

In Pottawatomie County, Rural Water District #3 is designated for a $1.9 million dollar loan, which will be used to construct a chlorination building, as well as the installation of 58,000 linear feet of pipe, and to build a 50,000 gallon elevated water tower.