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Commissioners approve $6.93 million Phase 6 water amendment after resident warns of contaminated wells
Summary
Northampton County commissioners voted to amend the Phase 6 water and sewer grant ordinance, increasing the project total from $5,003,000 to $6,929,000. A long public comment by resident Charles Tyner drew attention to households with contaminated drinking water and urged prioritizing affected roads.
Northampton County commissioners voted to approve an amendment to the Phase 6 water and sewer grant project ordinance, raising the project amount from $5,003,000 to $6,929,000, during a regular meeting.
The amendment matters to residents in eastern parts of Northampton County because speakers said the expansion targets areas without reliable potable water. Longtime county resident Charles Tyner addressed the board during the public-comment period, saying some local wells are contaminated and urging the county to prioritize roads and neighborhoods that lack safe drinking water.
Tyner told the board, “I want every citizen in Northampton County to have good drinking water.” He said he helped prepare earlier grant applications and pushed for water infrastructure for parts of the county he identified as underserved, mentioning specific local roads and churches that received earlier attention. “Folks, there are some folks in Northampton County that got water they can't drink. We had it tested,” Tyner said.
County staff presented the amendment to the board as an update to a previously approved grant ordinance. The finance director described the original ordinance amount and the updated figure; the board then moved, seconded and voted to approve the amendment.
The board did not, during the meeting, provide a detailed project schedule, construction timeline, or a breakdown of which roads or parcels would be served next. Tyner urged commissioners to consult him if they lacked data about contaminated wells and to prioritize connections where testing has shown contamination.
The amendment was approved by voice vote and recorded as carried in the meeting minutes. Staff and commissioners did not provide further implementation dates during the public meeting; additional project-level details were not specified.
The board also approved the consent agenda earlier in the meeting; the Phase 6 amendment was presented as part of the regular agenda items and acted on after the finance presentation.
