A longstanding issue for some residents in the county appears to finally be closer to resolution.

For year, officials have heard from residents of the Macedonia Hill area near Burlington about the need for a waterline extension.

Last week, the Ohio Department of Development awarded a $3,615,000 grant toward the project, as part of $114 million package for projects around the state.

“Fantastic news!” the Lawrence County Commissioners posted on their Facebook page on Friday, stating the funding, in combination with prior grants, will allow them “to finally bring water to the area.” 

In 2021, $250,000 in grant funds were awarded to cover the planning and engineering design for the project.

The Lawrence County Rural Water District was established in August 2018 to help bring running water to all underserved areas of the county, including Macedonia, Fayette Township, Rome Township, Symmes Valley and Winsor Township.

The DeWine-Husted Administration launched the Ohio BUILDS water infrastructure program in 2021 as a continuation of Governor DeWine’s H2Ohio initiative, which launched in 2019 to focus on ensuring plentiful, clean, and safe water for communities across the state.  In total, $500 million has been dedicated to the program, and a fifth round awarding additional funding will be announced later this summer.

The first three rounds of the program, awarded in October 2021, November 2021, and December 2021, were funded with $250 million from the American Rescue Plan Act appropriated by the 134th Ohio General Assembly. In response to the tremendous demand for water infrastructure support, the legislature added an additional $250 million in ARPA funding to the program through House Bill 45, which was signed by DeWine in January 2023.

The American Rescue Plan Act was passed by congressional Democrats and signed onto law by President Joe Biden in 2021.

“At Development, we’re working to build strong communities so that when people come to our state, we have the infrastructure and amenities to support them,” Lydia Mihalik, director of Development, said. “We’re grateful to the Ohio legislature for additional funding to make these critical investments and help prepare our communities for continued growth.” 

In addition to water infrastructure upgrades, Ohio BUILDS strategically invests in a broad range of projects to improve quality of life and support economic growth such as broadband expansion, brownfield redevelopment, the demolition of blighted buildings, and more.   

Additional information on the Ohio BUILDS water infrastructure grant program can be found on the program webpage.