VERNON (KFDX/KJTL) — The Texas Water Development Board in Austin Thursday approved a $12 million low-interest loan to the City of Vernon to replace an aging water pipeline that brings water from the city’s well field in northern Wilbarger County.

The pipeline, parts of which were installed in the early 1950s, has been experiencing increasing numbers of leaks and maintenance problems.

The city would have 15 years to repay the loan.

Vernon and several surrounding communities depend on the pipeline for water from the Seymour Aquifer.

The tentative date for beginning construction is February 2023 with completion a year later.