Taking Community Development Block Grant money to pay for water taps could be an incentive for a water company to start serving households on Macedonia Hill.

That is the plan proposed by Lawrence County Commissioner Bill Pratt.

For decades about two-dozen households have not had running water at the South Point location. Residents there either have well water or water hauled to storage tanks. That means water use must be conservative.

Pratt and former Fayette Township Trustee Mike Finley have tried to find a way to get running water up that hill. An attempt was made to have Ohio Aqua provide the service, but the water company said that would be cost-prohibitive.

In fact, it would cost about $3 million for all the necessary equipment, a company spokesperson said at the time.

Recently the two got Rep. Ryan Smith, R-93, involved in the project. Smith started looking into getting a non-profit company to provide the service that would allow the use of grant money.

Now Pratt is reaching out to the local non-profit Hecla Water.

“If we could pay for the water taps for each individual, it might provide an incentive,” Pratt said. “The company would know it would get its money. With grant money and water tap assistance, we might get there and solve that problem.”