The Oglethorpe Echo
Lexington’s water system will receive an upgrade, thanks to a recent grant.
“We got it, so that’s the start,” city clerk Kim Bradford said.
Lexington was one of five cities chosen to receive a total of more than $1.8 million for water infrastructure upgrades, although it’s not known exactly how much Lexington will get.
U.S. Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff announced the funds on Sept. 23. The press release said that for the city of Lexington, the funds could be used for the “installment of a treatment system and construction of a treatment building to remove radionuclides and volatile organic compounds in the groundwater.”
Bradford said the city hopes to put the money toward the installation of filters for the well on Centerville Road. The Echo recently reported that uranium levels were above acceptable levels in Lexington’s water system.
“Clean, safe, healthy drinking water is not a luxury — it’s a necessity,” Ossoff said in the release. “For families, for seniors, and for businesses in the community, any interruption of safe drinking water is an emergency.”
To be eligible for the grant, Lexington had to meet certain criteria, particularly as an “underserved community,” where a public water system violated or exceeded a maximum contaminant level, and “small and disadvantaged,” where the community has a population of less than 10,000 without the ability to finance a water project.
“Clean water is critical to promoting healthy communities — and it is especially important we are doing the work in Washington to make sure our rural communities across Georgia can count on having clean and safe water to drink, care for themselves and their homes, and keep local businesses and economies going,” Warnock said in the release.
As of May 21, the EPA announced that a total of $25 million would be made available to states and territories this fiscal year to help provide clean and safe drinking water.