Macon County will receive a half million dollar community development block grant from the State of Tennessee to put in new water lines. The grant ceremony will take place in Nashville on November 4th at the Governor's Office at the State Capital building. The money will be used to make available to new customers city water from the Lafayette Water District.

According to Glen H. Donoho, County Executive, there are over 1400 homes within the city limits that do not receive city water. Home owners in areas like Heine Lane, Old Potter Road, Swindle Road and Nichols Road in the Ebenezer community, which has had only sulfur water for the last year, have had to haul water since last summer's dry spell which caused wells and springs to dry up. The CDBG money will allow the Lafayette water district to put in new lines to service these and other homes in Lafayette.

Construction of the new water lines will start in 2004. Meanwhile, Donoho hopes that the City of Lafayette will contribute the 20% local match to the grant. He says, "all fourteen counties in the Upper Cumberland District contribute to their grants' respective local match. That's how they've done it in the past and the only hold out has been the City of Lafayette. For whatever reason, Lafayette has never contributed to the local part needed, although they have particularly benefited from the grant in terms of new business."