Grant clears way for major sewer extension in Good Hope

GOOD HOPE A major sewer line extension is in the works after officials received word the city has landed a grant to help fund the project through the Alabama Department of Community Affairs (ADECA).

The grant, a $330,000 award the city had sought but failed to obtain in years past, will fun roughly half the project, expected to total approximately $700,000.

Good Hope Mayor Corey Harbison said the new line will run east of Alabama Highway 69 through a residential area where many homeowners not currently served by a public sewer have had problems with their septic tanks.

Right now, theres probably about 100 residents that this will affect, said Harbison. The line will run from [Ala. highway] 69 off Lindsey road back to a subdivision on Buettner Drive. It's something the city has known about for a while and tried to pursue. Weve recognized that there was a problem; that people have had problems for years in this section of the city with septic tank failures, having to have their tanks pumped sometimes twice a year.

Once work on the project expected to take a year is finished, Harbisons hopeful the new line will offer prospective homebuilders an incentive to locate in Good Hope.

The good thing about this is that there's a lot of raw land in between Lindsey Road and Buettner Drive where we have spots for potential future residential development, he said. But, there has to be a sewer infrastructure there if we want to have that opportunity.

The project will install a gravity sewer line, which transports sewage without the need for pumps used in low-pressure sewer systems. The city will have to fund the balance of the projects total cost, most likely by taking out a bank loan.

Albertville-based CDG Engineers & Associates, which had provided preliminary site planning and cost estimates for the expansion, will also serve as project engineer once the work gets underway.

* Benjamin Bullard can be reached by e-mail at bbullard@cullmantimes.com or by telephone at 734-2131 ext. 270.

Originally posted here:
Grant clears way for major sewer extension in Good Hope