BURLINGTON — Verbal agreements to allow easements up Macedonia Hill have been obtained by the Fayette Township Trustees as they push to bring water to the fewer than 30 residents in that end of the township.

“We have verbal permission up the hill and (written easements) are being put in place,” Fayette Township Trustee Mike Finley said on Friday.

About 10 days ago the trustees, Lawrence County Commissioners and Rep. Ryan Smith (R- 93) met with officials from Aqua Ohio about the trustees’ project to pipe running water to residents in the Macedonia Hill district.

Recently the water company that supplies service to approximately 3,500 customers in the South Point-Burlington area, placed a $3 million price tag on the project.

That is an amount Aqua Ohio says is too much to burden their existing customers with.

However, supporters dispute those figures and are working to find a way to get pipes and a booster station down to an amount they believe they can finance.

“We are trying to determine the exact route we can take that water line and to figure out the number of feet we will have to have,” Smith said. “We need to determine the most direct route in order to figure the cost.”

On the table are the size and type of pipe that could be used as one of the major ways to reduce costs.

“And there is a give and take on who will own the infrastructure in the end,” Smith said. “There are some different options in trying to determine the best, most efficient, route.”

After that, seeking out public safety dollars could be a possible project revenue stream, Smith said.

On Tuesday, June 11, at 9:30 a.m., the trustees will meet with the commissioners and representatives from the Ironton-Lawrence County Community Action Organization to see what funding options are there.

“It is not dead,” Smith said. “It is challenging to figure out how we can get it done.”