During the Jan. 28 meeting of the Town Council, a resolution to seek $20,000 in funding from the Southern Rivers Watershed Enhancement Program for a wastewater collection system study was passed unanimously.
This means the town will apply for the funds to analyze its sewer system. The money is provided by the SRWE to improve water quality in Southwest Virginia.
Hillsville Town Manager Larry South said the program was put in place because there were people in this part of the state that felt a disproportionate amount of money was being used on the Chesapeake Watershed when there were bodies of water in Southwest Virginia that had similar needs.
South said as far as he knows, Hillsville’s wastewater collection system is solid, but it doesn’t hurt to take a look now to take care of any small problems before they become potential strains on the ecosystem.
“There’s no harm done by using the money to study the system,” South said. “If nothing else, it assures us that things are good for years to come. Hopefully we won’t need any major work done.”
And if the study shows the need for improvements, South said the same program can help the town fix things.
“If we find problems, there is grant money in the same program to correct them,” he said. “We don’t know that we have serious issues, but if we get the $20,000, that will allow us to take a look.”
A motion to enact the resolution was made by Vice Mayor Orba Alderman while Councilman Greg Yonce seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
The engineering firm of Anderson & Associates is applying for the state-administered funds on behalf of Hillsville.
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