The Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) announced Wednesday that it was approving a $574,500 green-project loan to the city of Tallapoosa to be used to replace old, inaccurate water meters with new radio-read meters.

The loan is coming from the authority’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, money set aside for the purpose of assisting cities like Tallapoosa in expanding their communities through green technologies.

“The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund assists local governments with their efforts to provide safe drinking water,” said GEFA Executive Director Kevin Clark. “In addition to the public’s health and safety, these projects are critical to a community’s ability to prosper economically.”

According to GEFA, the city will pay 3 percent interest on the 20-year loan, while receiving half the loan’s amount in principal forgiveness. Tallapoosa City Manager Phillip Eidson said the city applied for the loan last year and has been working to turn in paperwork for the last three or four months. The city will use sales tax revenue to pay back the $287,250 (plus interest) it is responsible for.

“The objective is to improve efficiency and be more consistent in the readings. It will pick up any old meters that are not registering properly, and it will save time, labor and gas,” Eidson said. “With the cutback, we would hope we could do other things to improve the city.”

He said the new, automated meter-reading system would take a mere day and a half to read, whereas the current meters take four people a week to read. He said the nominal cost and use of fuel after these meters are installed should go a long way in reducing pollution and keeping the city’s carbon footprint at a minimum.

“Every house and store has a meter. When we get the ride-by in, you can read a whole street at once,” Eidson said. “If there’s an inaccuracy, it will send you a flag and tell you there’s a discrepancy and to go back and check that meter. It will also go back for a 90-day period and show you where it’s been spiking. That way it gives customers an explanation of why their bills spike.”

Clark expressed appreciation to Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, Sen. Bill Heath and Rep. Kevin Cooke for their support of the loan. He credited the state’s commitment to helping cities and counties finance infrastructure development as one of the main contributors to GEFA’s success.

According to a press release from the authority, GEFA helps communities prepare for economic growth and development by providing low-interest loans. The 2010 DWSRF program guidelines direct the states to reserve 20 percent of the DWSRF funding for projects that address water or energy efficiency improvements or other environmentally-innovative activities. Cities and counties interested in more information regarding the DWSRF should visit www.gefa.org or call 404-584-1000.