Commissioners decided on Nov. 19 to approve the water line construction, subject to receiving a letter and funding from Meadowbrook. Meadowbrook has approximately 20 homeowners who could potentially be new county water customers.

Polk County decided last year it would fund the water line to connect its well site at located at the middle school/recreation complex in Mill Spring to Columbus’ line that ends at the high school for back up purposes.

In February, the county approved a $592,465 bid from Steppe Construction to construct the 12-inch line with 10 fire hydrants.

The interconnect means that all three towns and the county’s water systems are connected. Polk County has also discussed the future of its water system that includes connecting Polk’s County’s Green Creek system that connects the Broad River Water Authority to the Inman Campobello Water District to Polk Central School and later to the county’s Mill Spring well system.

That connection will create a regional system for Polk and its towns due to Polk being connected to Broad River and Inman Campobello and Saluda being connected to Hendersonville and Asheville. Columbus, Saluda and Tryon were recently connected through a grant to run a water line along Howard Gap Road and Tryon and Columbus have been connected for years.