The Oglethorpe Echo
Lexington residents will soon have upgrades to their water treatment system, thanks to a $40,000 grant from the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority’s (GEFA) Small, Underserved and Disadvantaged Communities Grant Program.
City clerk Kim Bradford said the funding will primarily go toward early-stage planning for improvements to one of the city’s wells, including engineering and design work, helping the city comply with federal Safe Drinking Water Act standards.
“We got split between two funding years somehow, so $40,000 is the first round,” Bradford said.
The project is tied to well No. 5 on Centerville Road, which has tested for uranium, though Bradford said it has not posed a major health risk and remains in operation. Once funding is fully in place, the project will include expanding the well house, installing filtration systems and upgrading electrical components.
The Echo has reported on elevated uranium levels in Lexington’s drinking water, as well as past grants aimed at improving the city’s water infrastructure.
“It’s not that it’s out of compliance, but it’s not major, where it’s any type of major health risk,” Bradford said. “If the well’s still working, this is just one of the procedures we have to do.”
Bradford said the city didn’t directly apply for the grant; the Georgia Rural Water Association submitted the application on Lexington’s behalf.
Lexington was one of six communities selected to receive funding as part of the program, which distributed a total of $2.1 million statewide through the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act. Other recipients included Byromville, Damascus, Doerun, Ephesus and Hahira.