Coffee County receives grant to upgrade water systems
COFFEE CO., AL (WSFA) - Coffee County is receiving gr ant funding to improve its water systems for its residents.
Governor Robert Bentley announced the recipients for the Community Development Block Grant on Thursday.
Coffee County officials say residents in the community located near the intersection of County Road 410 and Highway 87 have been living off of well water. This gr ant will be dedicated to installing a new water system for the community.
The Coffee County Water Authority will be connecting water lines to Elba's water system. Then, they'll purchase water from the city's wholesale supply to distribute to 23 new customers.
Commissioner Jimmy Jones has been working to get this gr ant since 2014.
Three out of the nine wells that are currently being used were found to be contaminated.
The Community Development Block Gr ant is for $341,000. The state is putting up $310,000 and the county will match $31,000 for the project.
"Water is one of the essential elements of life. Without water, none of us can survive and people have been using well water. They never had running water. They never had fire protection, so it was essential that we worked together to bring this necessity to those people in that area," Jones said.
The next step for the county is the bidding process.
Commissioner Jones hopes to have the new water system up and running by fall 2017.
Covington County is receiving two Community Development Block Gr ants to repair sewer lines in Opp and to improve accessibility for people with disabilities at an outdoor multi-purpose stadium in Red Level.
The gr ants total more than $990,000.
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