Funds to be used for sewer repair

East Brewton and Flomaton will soon share $750,000 in grant funds for sewer and water repairs.

The funds, which were by Gov. Robert Bentley’s office, will be administered through the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.

East Brewton was awarded $350,000 to rehabilitate sewer lines in the Gillis Street area. The project, once completed, will benefit 216 residents and require a $53,700 in matching funds from the city.

City officials said the city’s current sewer lines are a health hazard due to backup issues, especially during heavy rainfall. The city will use cured-in-place pipe liner to rehabilitate the existing lines because they are located in areas where excavating the lines for full replacement would be difficult. Manholes in the project area also will receive new liner to repair deteriorated mortar and eliminate leaks.

Mayor Terry Clark said, “This announcement is wonderful news for our city. This is a project that has been two years in the making. We applied for funding last year, but were turned down. So we reapplied and couldn’t be more pleased.”

While a timeline for the project has not been announced, Clark said he believes work will begin after the first of the year.

Flomaton was also awarded $350,000 to replace outdated led water lines. The project will benefit 342 residents living in the Martin Luther King Drive, Hillview Drive and Upper Creek Road areas.

The project will replace the 87-year-old lines with PVC pipes and install related equipment. Town officials say some of the existing fire hydrants in the project area are not functioning correctly, so the project will include installation of eight new fire hydrants.

Funding for the projects is made available by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. ADECA administers an array of programs that support law enforcement and traffic safety, economic development, energy conservation, water resource management and recreation development.

Also as part of the award, Loxley was awarded $350,000 to rehabilitate old and deteriorated sewer lines.