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Union County OKs Phase A of short water-line extension after residents describe chronic dry wells
Summary
After multiple residents described low-producing wells and costly repairs during public comment, the Union County Board of Commissioners approved construction of Phase A of the FY22 short water-line extension program and postponed Phase B pending further work on easements and funding.
Union County commissioners voted to award construction of Phase A of the short water-line extension program after residents described frequent outages, arsenic concerns and expensive well repairs.
The vote followed public comment from several Stack Road and Sykes Mill Road residents who said private wells were running dry, that some homes had high arsenic readings in past tests and that households had spent thousands on pumps, filters and temporary water solutions. "I either have low water or no water," resident Ashika Allen told the board, adding her household spent more than $7,000 on a new pump and wiring and now must shower in chlorinated water because her system cannot clear contaminants given the low flow.
County staff presented a detailed update on FY22 and FY23 projects and funding. Thomas Mann, the county CIP program manager, told commissioners that rising construction and labor costs and additional needs for larger-diameter mains on long, dead-end lines have increased the program cost estimate from roughly $8.4 million at selection to about $17.7 million today. Mann said total available funding for the combined FY22–FY23 program is just under $11 million, leaving an approximate $7 million shortfall to complete all selected projects as originally scoped.
The board discussed options including (1) proceeding only with projects that have completed easements and fall within available funding, (2) delaying some FY23 work and (3) pursuing legal remedies to obtain outstanding temporary easements. Mann identified two clusters with outstanding easement work: the Sykes Mill Road group (one parcel) and a Morgan Mill/Morgan Mill–Watson Church Road cluster where several necessary bore-pit easements remain unresolved. Mann said failure to obtain the Morgan Mill easements would prevent serving all 12 applicants on that alignment and reduce the program cost by about $3.26 million.
County Manager Brian Matthews recommended using the existing FY22 and FY23 funds to complete as much of the FY22 program as possible and defer FY23 work while staff pursues easement resolution and a longer-term funding strategy. After discussion, Commissioner Gary Balcom moved to approve construction for the FY22 short-line projects listed in Phase A (Old Dutch Road, Jack Connell, Deepwood Place, Sharon Lane and Sites Mill). The motion passed. Commissioners also asked staff to return with additional detail on Phase B and related easement and funding options at the August meeting.
The board and staff made a point of distinguishing steps: easement acquisition efforts will continue; contracts will return to the board for award; meters will be installed as part of the county work but property owners must install the service line from the meter to their homes. Mann noted a program change: applicants now pay required fees up front, and meters will be installed as part of the project so customers are counted when service is made available.
Commissioners praised staff for moving long-delayed projects forward, and residents who spoke at the meeting urged prompt construction. Several speakers said they've waited decades for county water and described health, property and safety consequences of unreliable wells, including a house fire that residents said was worsened by lack of municipal water nearby.
