A water line extension connecting the Mill Spring crossroads to Sunny View Elementary School and the Sunny View Fire and Rescue Department is more than 50 percent complete.

The Polk County Board of Commissioners met March 16 and heard an update from County Manager Marche Pittman.

Pittman said as of March 16, all of the 8-inch water line and fire hydrants had been completed along Big Level Road. Pittman also told commissioners that engineer Dave Odom is involved but the Inman-Campobello Water District (ICWD) is more involved because they are going to be maintaining the system.

A construction permit for the project was received on Dec. 5, 2014 with construction beginning on Dec. 15, 2014.

Contractors said overall the construction has been good, although the weather was a factor last month.

“The waterline placement has also been challenging due to the shoulders of the road being covered with telephone and fiber optic cables,” said the contractor’s report. “The contractor is actually having to strip the phone cables to get the water line installed.”

The Army Corp of Engineers has issued the 404 permits and the state has also issued the 401 permit for stream crossings, according to the report.

Along with the 8-inch water line and fire hydrants along Big Level Road being installed, approximately 16,430 plus feet has been installed along Hwy. 9. The project as of March 16 was 52 percent complete, according to the report.

Polk County approved a construction contract for the water line extension last year with Steppe Construction for $1,567,340, with the county appropriating $1.6 million from its fund balance to pay for the extension.

Property owners along the water line can tap onto for a significantly reduced fee of $700 during construction, or until April 20.

The extension will mean that all Polk County Schools and fire departments will have public water.

The schedule for the completion of the water line is to have it in service before school start back for the 2015-2016 school year.

Polk County currently has approximately 140 water customers served through ICWD. Polk County and ICWD are currently drafting a contract in order to share water resources. The contract is currently in ICWD’s hands after the discovery that the N.C. Local Government Commission would not approve of the first draft of the contract because it could potentially place a burden on taxpayers if the contract were ever terminated.