A new water line through southeastern Polk County now connects Broad River Water Authority (BRWA) and Inman-Campobello Water District (ICWD) as construction on approximately seven miles of water line through Green Creek is complete.

Polk County Manager Ryan Whitson announced the completion of the water line at a Polk County Board of Commissioners meeting Monday. Whitson said water began flowing through the line on Dec. 31, which was the deadline for completion.

Whitson also said ICWD plans to make taps for 50 Polk County customers off the line next week.

Nearby residents will be able to hook on to the 20-inch main water line by paying ICWD a tap fee, $1,200 if the payment was made prior to construction and $1,500 after construction.

The county is also working on extending lines throughout Green Creek to provide other areas with water service. In those cases, the county and individuals will share the costs of the extension with the county paying 60 percent of costs and individuals paying 40 percent.

With the completion of the line, BRWA is now sending ICWD water through Polk County, pumping about 2.5 million gallons per day. Polk paid no money for the main line and is able to purchase water from BRWA to sell to Polk County customers.

Whitson says the 50 Green Creek residents have already paid their tap fees to hook onto the system and now will have to hire a plumber to hook their homes to the new meters. Whitson says he expects that Polk customers will have the water by the first of next month.