BCUD given funding to extend water lines

Tuesday, November 3, 2009
By John I. Carney

A $360,000 Community Development Block Grant announced by the state last week will fund Bedford County Utility District water line extensions serving 38 families.

"I think all the commissioners are very pleased with it," said BCUD general manager Marty Davis.

The grant, combined with $240,000 in local funds, will allow water lines to be run on Coffee Road and Robinson Road and to be extended on Moulder Road and Haskins Chapel Road. Davis said the total project includes a new line on Ted Haskins Road as well.

The grant dollars were provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and were allocated under a procedure authorized by the Tennessee General Assembly.

Davis said it will take some time to complete all of the paperwork so that the actual funds can be released to start the project.

"It's still going to be a while before it's done," said Davis. "There's a lot more paperwork and everything that has to go."

Utilities like BCUD have a formula for determining whether it is financially feasible to extend service to a particular rural area. In sparsely-populated areas, there may not be enough customers, and future revenue, to justify the expense of adding service. A grant can allow construction of water lines which would otherwise be unworkable from a financial standpoint.

"The grants awarded through this program provide funding needed to maintain and update community resources and improve the overall economic and environmental health of Tennessee," said Gov. Phil Bredesen in a news release. "I'm proud the state of Tennessee can provide funding to communities to help spur economic growth and create jobs."

"These grants are evidence of the state's commitment to helping our communities prosper," said Tennessee Commissioner of Economic and Community Development Matt Kisber in a news release. "CDBG grants help increase our state's economic edge and provide opportunities for our communities to improve their overall economic development strategies."

Comments

Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. If you feel that a comment is offensive, please Login or Create an account first, and then you will be able to flag a comment as objectionable. Please also note that those who post comments on t-g.com may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.

Don't count on this to happen I live in the Flat Creek area and they have had a grant for a long time. This company came out and started digging the lines and left a mess in my yard and pipe in my yard and have never came back to pick up their pipe in probably 6 months. How long do

I have to leave this mess in my yard before i can just sell this pipe and all these fitting that go with this. People don't let them start digging until they can clean up their mess behind them.

-- Posted by kimb on Tue, Nov 3, 2009, at 10:31 PM