The city of South Haven has broken ground on a new water tower.

Local leaders were joined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development State Director for Michigan Monday as the new project officially began.

USDA Rural Development awarded the South Haven Area Water and Sewer Authority loans of more than $10.1 million to support the project, demolishing a century-old water standpipe and building a water tower with a capacity of more than one million gallons. The project also leveraged more than $27.6 million from the state’s Drinking Water Revolving Fund and will affect more than 5,000 households.

USDA Rural Development’s Brandon Fewins says the project is a major upgrade for South Haven’s water system that will last for decades.