State Sen. Jim Pruitt, Rep. Ron Johnson and Talladega County administrator Wayne Hall met with residents of the area and members of the Sylacauga Utilities Board at the board office.
Sylacauga Utilities will run water to 70 families along Pecan Road, Limbaugh Road and Coleman Bridge Road, according to Hall. Pecan Road resident Bobby Payne said he and many others had dealt with contaminated well water for some time.
Payne said he had his water tested after it began to smell strange.
“I started to warn people that they needed to test their wells,” Payne said. “Mine started to have a foul odor to it.”
Hall said $56,690 came from the county commission’s fund for rural water development. Johnson said the remaining $100,000 of the grant came from the Rural Sales Tax Water Fund.
“Every time you spend a penny in the rural part of the county, rural grocery stores and restaurants, this is where you get a return on your investment,” Johnson said.
Preuitt said it was necessary to receive funding assistance to undergo water service extensions like this one.
“Rural water is very expensive,” he said. “If it wasn’t for grants, there’s no way to afford water to the area. Water systems could almost never get their money back on the investment.”
Mike Richard, general manager of the Utilities Board said the project was slated to begin in September or October.
Post a Comment
