The federal government gave Chattooga County, Georgia, $750,000 to replace its Vietnam War-era water pipes that leak and barely pump water fast enough to fight fires.
The Georgia Department of Community Affairs awarded the grant to the county Friday morning. Commissioner Jason Winters applied for the money to replace the water lines in the Mountain View area, located in the northern part of the county, next to U.S. Highway 27.
He hopes the grant will allow the county to replace three miles of water lines. As part of the grant, the county agreed to throw in $88,000 of its own money.
"This little project, there are a lot of positives to it," Winters said. "It solves maintenance issues. It helps with fire protection. It serves a lot of homes."
This will be the second part of a three-phase plan in the Mountain View area. Overall, Winters said, the project will replace water lines that run to 325 homes in the county. It will also build out lines that serve the Trion Industrial Park, about 133 acres next to U.S. Highway 27.
Trion's water system services the area. But Dixie Specialty Fibers is building a plant in the park, giving Trion its first actual company there. Winters said the county's water line can back up the park if Trion's fails. Or, if another plant needs added water pressure to do its work, the county can help.
Winters said the pipes in the Mountain View area date back to the 1950s and 1960s. Different stretches are made of different metals, such as ductile iron. The county will replace them with the standard CPVC pipes. Because the materials on the pipes are so old, they frequently leak, tying up maintenance workers.
"They were never intended to be put in and used for 50 or 60 years," Winters said, adding the new pipes should last three or four decades.
The older pipes were also 2 or 4 inches in diameter, while the new ones will be 6 or 8 inches. That will increase water pressure to the homes. In emergencies, the water pressure to fire hydrants also will be stronger.
"With most fire departments now and most equipment," Winters said, "you really need a 6-inch line to feed the fire hydrant. You really need that pressure."
As with the second phase, the county funded the first phase of the water line replacement mostly through a Community Development Block Grant. In 2015, the community affairs department gave the county $500,000, which Winters said covered about 2 1/2 miles of new water lines.
The grant program originates with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which gives a chunk of money to the community affairs department. The state agency then awards grants based on applications.
Overall, the department announced $40 million in grants to 60 communities in Georgia on Friday. Of that money, about $38.2 million will fund infrastructure changes. The other $2.8 million go toward economic incentives.
"(The Community Development Block Grant) is a vital community development tool for rural Georgia," community affairs Commissioner Christopher Nunn said in a statement. "This program's impact can be felt in every corner of our state."
Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or tjett@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.