Appomattox water line work moving forward

Planning and design work for the U.S. 460 water line in Appomattox County is steaming along as supervisors this week approved land purchases for the 7.5-mile project.

Two parcels will be bought for a water tower and pump station. A 4.5-acre parcel in Spout Spring, next to the Spout Spring post office, will be used for the water tower. A 0.32-acre parcel near Concord will be used for the pump station.

The county will spend $195,000 for the 4.5-acre parcel and $10,000 for the 0.32-acre parcel, county planner Johnnie Roark said. The two parcels are the only ones needed for the project, he said.

A 100,000-gallon water tank, which will cost about $400,000, is a similar design as the one in the town, Roark said.

In January, Appomattox supervisors decided to forge ahead with the water line project. Designs for the water line are complete, and the county’s pre-engineering report was approved by the health department. Roark said the county currently is designing the water tower and pump station sites. Once those are complete sometime in October, the entire design will be sent to the health department for approval.

The county expects to put the project out for bid and start construction sometime in late winter or early spring, Roark said. This spring, supervisors also refinanced an existing bond to pay for the project, which currently is estimated to cost $5.2 million, Roark said, lower than the initial projected sum.