CHAPEL HILL -- Federal funding is being sought by the town's Board of Mayor and Aldermen to deal with stormwater drainage.

A $366,160 project is contemplated, according to consulting engineer Will Owen of the Murfreesboro-based engineering firm Griggs & Maloney Inc.

Drainage could be improved for an area starting at the intersection of Lawrence Avenue and Biggers Street, Owen said. From there, water flows behind the Country Diner to Forrest Street and on to Spring Creek.

Chapel Hill would have to pay about $73,200 of the total, however, Owen said, "There is no application fee."

Town boards must approve applications and the aldermen unanimously voted this month to authorize the mayor's signature on the request for a Community Development Block Grant, money that Congress appropriates to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"It may take seven to eight months for these people to approve," Mayor Carl Cooper said of the process handled for the state by its development district office in Columbia. "If it is, it could be a year before we could act on it."

The decision to request a grant to deal with stormwater came from a public hearing.

"When we met and looked at options," Town Administrator Mike Hatten said, "we realized we'd been turned down for the sewer grant, and we know that the lagoon needs improvement."

Chapel Hill had competed against other municipalities for grants to deal with sewers.

Lewisburg is submitting its third CDBG request to replace leaking sewers. Ground water is seeping into pipes, thereby adding an unnecessary workload to the treatment plant.

Meanwhile, Chapel Hill has a variety of needs and addressing stormwater drainage seemed reasonable, Hatten said.

Aldermen Bucko Bryant and Henry Frame have studied the matter, the administrator said, and the mayor spoke of it as a historic problem here.

"We are trying to address a problem that's been in Chapel Hill since I could walk through town as a boy," Cooper said.

Town Hall officials last week said when rainfall does not drain quickly, there are some roads in town that police officers close for public safety reasons.

"The main places are at the Depot Street underpass," Sgt. John Leverette said of a low area with a limited drainage system. "When it rains, a lot, there will be a lot of trash to flow to the drain and it gets clogged.

"When it gets full of water, people try to drive through the water," Leverette said. "It can go up to the rocker panels on some cars' doors."

Water may get a foot deep in an area 15-20 feet long, the policeman said.

Owen said the drainage issue at the Depot Street underpass would not be addressed by the proposed CDBG project.

"It's beyond the scope of increasing culverts or making a line larger," Owen said.

As for the public safety issue at Biggers Street off Lawrence Avenue, Sgt. Leverette said. "There's one certain spot where it holds water. It's not the entire street, but there are about 10 yards (of road) covered with water that has no way to drain, so it's there until it evaporates or soaks in."

Owen said the drainage project would not go any further if the grant is denied.

The city hasn't budgeted the total cost for the project.

What the city spends on the project depends on an analysis of low to moderate income levels of nearby residents, Owen said.

"The state adjusts its percentages each year," he said, adding to the uncertainty of the city's cost. It is expected to be approximately one fifth of the total.

"None of this is set in stone as far as design," the engineer continued. "There are a few options on how we improve the channels to Spring Creek. We are exploring alternatives and the design won't be done unless it's funded."

Last year, there were 23 applications for grants in the category suitable for drainage projects, Owen said. Eight were funded. There were two applications for drainage projects. Others included requests to fund a new fire hall, tornado sirens and an ambulance.