WILLIAMSON – Mingo County received great news Wednesday when it was announced the county had been awarded a total of $1.3 million in Small Cities Block Grant funding for a long standing project, the Dingess water system.

A portion of that money, $700,000, will be immediately available.

On Dec. 30, Rep. Nick Rahall (D, WV) announced the award of $2,617, 500 in funding from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utility Services division for the project. County officials are currently working the Office of Abandoned Mine Lands to secure the project’s remaining funding.

“All the pieces are truly coming together,” Commission President John Mark Hubbard said. “Everything is indicating we can begin construction in late summer or early fall.”

The last obstacle to the project can be over come, Hubbard said, with the help of residents of the area themselves.

Officials are still working to obtain the necessary construction easements for the project. Half of the needed easements have been received. Residents from whom easements are needed have been contacted by mail. If those residents have not signed an easement agreement, it is asked they contact the county commission immediately.

Residents who have not signed user agreements or paid their tap fees can still continue to do so at the $100 discounted fee. However, once construction begins, the tap fee will return to $350.

“My fellow commissioners and I want to express our gratitude to Gov. (Joe) Manchin and Congressman Rahall for their assistance in the county receiving this funding,” Hubbard said. “Time and time again they have expressed their desire for residents of our state to have access to potable water and they have confirmed that commitment through the award of this funding.”

Any resident in the Dingess project area interested in receiving water should contact Tina Abbott at (304) 235-0378 or Leigh Ann Ray at (304) 235-0338 or stop by the county commission office located on the first floor of the Mingo County Courthouse. The courthouse is located at 75 East Second Avenue in Williamson.