Non-profits help those in the region who are in need of food. Now because of the drought, an increasing number of people need help getting access to water as well.
The Western Illinois Regional Council runs a food pantry in Macomb. Now it has seen a spike in call from rural residents who need help getting water.
Planning Coordinator, Shannon Duncan, said the regional council uses a federal revolving loan program through the USDA to help those in need. She said these residents may have problems with their wells. Also, she said, they are too far from a town or rural water district to receive water from those sources.
"In many instances these families don't have access to even get water hauled and pumped into their wells," Duncan said, "in some cases the wells won't hold water. They just do not have running water in their homes."
The loans can help pay for repairs to the well or to drill a new one.
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Duncan said currently only McDonough County residents are eligible for the loans. Though she said the Western Illinois Regional Council is hoping to expand into Hancock, Henderson, Warren, Fulton and Knox counties in the future.
