BELCHERTOWN, Mass. - Pine Valley Plantation is one is several communities across Massachusetts receiving state funding to help fix their water lines.

The low interest loan of over $6 million for the Belchertown mobile home comes as part of a $1.3 billion award by the Healey-Driscoll Administration to fund waste water and drinking water infrastructure projects. 

Pine Valley President Richard Kelleher said the community of more than 550 residents has been working for years to receive loans from the state due to several issues of leaks and at times unclean water.

"It's going to enable elderly people to stay here on the fixed income that they've got if their maintenance fee isn't going to double or triple because of a $6 million dollar project," Kelleher said. "If we had to finance that ourselves, it would certainly impact the pocket of everyone living here."

Plantation resident Connie Broughear has been living in her mobile home for 20 years and says she herself has faced challenges with running water.

"Well, periodically, we get disturbed, and we do what we have to move along," said Broughear. "One year, I had to go with a pail in the pond to flush the toilet."

Broughear said she was very excited when she found out the community would finally have state support to address the leaking pipes.

"I called Dick right away when I heard and said, 'Congratulations!' Yes, he's worked hard for this and for many years," Broughear said. "And we've helped him along the way as much as we could and now it's going to happen so that'll be a good thing."

One hundred and eighty-five projects across the commonwealth will take place as part of the effort to provide quality water.

Kelleher said having clean running water is vital especially for an elderly population.

"We have a lot of elderly in here who have suppressed immune systems," Kelleher said. "And we to be careful of that because we certainly don't want anybody getting ill from bad water."

Kelleher said he expects construction for the new water pipes at the Plantation to begin next year.