Gov. Robert Bentley has awarded a $32,000 grant to help the city of Uniontown take steps to eliminate a health hazard.
The city will use the Community Development Block Grant to detect leaks in sewer lines. The leaks, amplified by recent heavy rains, have caused raw sewage to back up in neighborhoods and streets and also resulted in the city exceeding permitted capacity at its wastewater treatment lagoons which is a violation state health regulations.
“Community Development Block Grants are important because they enable local governments to take corrective actions on serious problems particularly where it affects the health and welfare of residents,” Bentley said. “It is my hope that this grant will be a significant help to resolve the issue in Uniontown."
Special cameras will be used to video sewer lines to detect breaks and cracks. City workers will then make the needed repairs. City officials say the breaks in the lines are result of the age of sewer system, soils and tree roots and compounded recently by the large amount of rain during the past few months.
Bentley notified Mayor Jamaal Hunter that the grant had been approved. Local funding of $2,500 is being added to the project.
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grant from funds made available to the state by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
ADECA administers a wide range of programs that support law enforcement, economic development, infrastructure upgrades, recreation, energy conservation, and water resource management.
Contact Jim Plott or Mike Presley