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Water project funded PHOENIX -- The final financing for a water intertie among Medford, Phoenix and Talent was put in place Thursday as Phoenix officials accepted nearly $2 million in grants and loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The $890,800 grant and $1 million long-term loan is the second chunk of money the city has received for the project. In November, the city accepted a $1,104,900 loan and a grant of $904,000 from the department. The funds are part of President Clinton's Pacific Northwest Economic Adjustment Initiative designed to compensate rural communities for the loss of timber dollars. "This is a transition time (for the Rogue Valley economy). What we can do is help balance things off ... make some investments," said John Romano, deputy administrator for the Rural Utilities Service of the Department of Agriculture. Phoenix gets its water from the Medford Water Commission, but needs more storage to keep up with growth and needs to replace some of its delivery system. Once the project is complete, residents should see improved water pressure, said public works director Jim Wear. A second, million-gallon reservoir planned on city-controlled land east of the freeway is at a higher elevation than the city's current reservoir. The higher elevation will provide greater pressure in the gravity-fed system, said Wear. Phoenix's upgrades will also include systemwide upgrades of pumping, distribution and water service lines. Engineering plans are still being completed for the project, known as TAP (Talent-Ashland-Phoenix). Portions of Highway 99 will be torn up to accommodate the pipeline beginning late this year or early in 2000. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA